Toys TOYS

Jack-in-the-box

  1. Home
    2. >
  2. Toys
    3. >
  3. Jack-in-the-box

Mattel is responsible for producing some of the best examples of the Jack-in-the-box since 1945.

A Jack-in-the-box is a children’s toy that consists of a brightly coloured box within which sits a clown or other figure. The box features a crank which when turned usually plays a melody (often ‘Pop Goes the Weasel’) and at the end when this tune has finished playing the lid springs open and out pops ‘Jack’.

There is something scary about the Jack-in-the-box as a child’s toy, and in the same way that these days many children are terrified of clowns, it is easy to see how the jack-in-the-box could create the same fear.

Suggest an update

Author of this article:



Contributors to this article:

  • There are no contributors yet

Message boards

Discuss Jack-in-the-box on the message boards

Do You Remember Jack-in-the-box?

Do You Remember Jack-in-the-box?

  • Anonymous user
    on
    These have been around since the 18th Century- Fisher Price used to make ones where Jack made a loud and prolonged squeak when he popped up, you can still get these on eBay. I was always scared of them as a small child, I would never have wanted one of my own.

Do you remember these?