It's easy to see why skateboards, rollerboots and BMX's were so popular among kids in the 70s, but Space Hoppers? For one, it seems a little odd to be bouncing up and down on a big orange rubber ball at the best of times, and considering it didn't help - but rather hinder - getting from A to B, it could be labelled a bit pointless, really... They didn't enable you to jump higher, go faster or run further than you could on foot. But you had to have one.
The space hopper (Hippity Hop in America) was invented by Italian, Aquilino Cosani in 1968, though he referred to it then as the Pon-Pon, and it was launched in Britain just as trance/rave culture was picking up speed in the summer of '71. This may help provide some explanation behind the trend, and space hoppers went on to make appearances at Glastonbury and Birmingham psychedelic trance parties well into the 90s.
Despite being marketed as 'the amazing inflatable riding ball', its design was pretty simple. The earliest space hoppers were made of red or blue rubber, inflated via an internal valve system, reaching up to around 20 inches. These days though, adult versions are available too, enabling the children of the 70s to relive their bouncing glory days - this time with fewer grazes on their knees.
Each hopper featured two handles on the top so you could keep your balance - but still many kids ended up flying right over these very handles after things got out of control! It really wasn't the safest toy around - its saving grace was its apparent inability to burst, although we had a good try at it. But it was great fun, especially when your mates lines up on theirs and you raced each other to the end of the playing field.
The majority of space hoppers had a smiley, kangaroo's face painted on the front, but kids were also treated to themed hoppers in the late 70s, which featured plastic moulds of Disney characters, including Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse, on the front. Despite such efforts, though, the US Hoppity hop went out of production and the Space Hopper's popularity is sporadic. So, let's hope the people of Folkestone might spark a revival after they broke the world record for the most people hopping simultaneously, taking it to 1000 people on 4th July 2006.
Other space hopper world records of note include the fastest time for 100m on a space hopper, which was set by Ashrita Furman in 2004 when she did it in just 30.2 seconds. And Ashrita also set the fastest mile on a space hopper in January 2005. Fancy setting your own record?
Do You Remember Space Hoppers?
Do You Remember Space Hoppers?
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MommaMystique
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Trust you alibags.... just dont even consider bringing one into work!
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alibags
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i must be old i had a blue one. i went everywhere on it, and was banned from the shop with it.
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vic
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I never had one, but as far as I can remember everyone else seemed to. The thing is I can't remember anyone actually using them. To me, the space hopper (and it was always the orange one) was always lurking about in the long grass at the bottom of every friend's garden, grubby, weather beaten and ever present but ignored like some discarded family pet. It only ever saw any action if someone's big brother decided to be a nuisance and knocked people over with it, but even that was once in a blue moon.
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Anonymous
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My twin sister and I both had one, but we called them "Hoppity Hops"
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Anonymous
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OMG...! I had the blue Superman one too, and I was a girl, (although somewhat of a tomboy). My parents obviously thought it suited me...!
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Anonymous
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My best friend had a blue one with Superman on the front, which he got after the first or second Christopher Reeve movie. i LOVED it and was desperate to have my own! Alas, my parents didn't seem to find it appropriate for a little girl. Yeesh!
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Anonymous
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We had a bright orange one back in the 70s. And yes, I too fell off a lot! :)
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Anonymous
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I had the large orange space hopper. I think it came from my cousin who was born in the 70's. I was born at the end of 1982. I had great fun with my space hopper and i loved his unusual face!
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Anonymous
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we all had a space hopper in the garden, many years after leaving home my dad had a clear out and tip every thing,lucky 4 me coz there was my original 1970's bright orange much hopped on space hopper so now i have it in my garden 4 my kids 2 play on,the new ones are nothing like the real ones.....
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Anonymous
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I have a very traumatic memory of my Space Hopper: one afternoon my dad was backing in to the garage with the car, my SH was there, in the way, and.... you can imagine the rest! That screwed me up for years! After hearing the BANG!! I came outb of the house and found it all in bits: I kept the part where the handles were as a reminder...
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