- For other meanings of the term, see Clackers (disambiguation)
Extensive Definition
The term clackers refers to a vintage toy which
was briefly popular in the early 1970s. Its name
refers to the fact that its point was to have the two balls of
which the toy consisted of clicking against each other. It was
similar to the actual Argentine
weapon known as bolas.
They are formed out of two hard plastic marbles, each about two inches
in diameter, attached to a ring with sturdy string. The player puts
his or her finger in the
ring, allowing the marbles or balls to hang below. Through a gentle
up-and-down hand motion,
the two balls swing apart and together, making the clacking noise
that give the toy its name. After a little practice, it is possible
to get the marbles swinging so that they knock together above the
hand as well as below.
Clackers were eventually discontinued after
children got injured whilst playing with them: besides being fairly
heavy and fast-moving, the spheres, being made of hard acrylic
plastic, could shatter upon striking each other, presenting a
safety hazard.
There is a recurring urban legend
that the clacker spheres were made of glass, although no one has ever
produced an actual glass set. The confusion may have arisen because
many sets were made of transparent colored acrylic which resembled
glass.
The toys enjoyed a brief renewal of popularity in
the 1990s
when clackers consisting of a handle and plastic triangles with the
plastic marbles at the end giving weight to the free moving toy. It
was played the same way and were always in bright neon
colours.
Popular Culture
In the episode "Megan's First Kiss" of the teen
comedy Drake and
Josh, Drake buys two pairs of clackers, remarking "They're the
hottest toys in the Netherlands!"
In the episode "Rumor of Love" of the teen comedy
Zoey
101, Michael can be seen with and is asked about a purple pair
of clackers he is playing with. He is also very preoccupied with
them in the episode "Walk-a-thon"
In the video game WarioWare:
Touched!, one can obtain a set of clackers as one of the toys
in the "Toy Room".
Side Note
The inventor of clackers was Bill Miracle of California, he DID sell glass clackers. The original design was a set of glass balls on string with a washer tied in the middle (later versions had a ring, the washer version required you to pinch the washer between thumb and pointer finger and swing it up and down. He sold them at local fairs as novelties up until a girl broke her arm with the toy and was sued. Also the design with real glass was a safety hazard all its own. Other versions came out later on by other people, 'safer' versions, Bill Miracle never persued any legal action taking up a realty business. (He still owns 3-4 of the originals)Alternate names
- Bangers
- Bonkers
- Clack Clacks
- Clackers
- Click-Clacks
- Crackers
- Gnip-Gnops
- Kabonkers
- Kerbangers
- Ker-Knockers
- Klackers
- Klick-Klacks
- Knockers
- K-Nokkers
- Mini Poppers
- Popper Knockers
- Poppers
- Quick Clacks
- Quick Klacks
- Quick Wacks
- Rockers
- Super Clackers
- Tikka Takkas
- Wackers
- Whackers
- Whack'os
- Whak Kos
- Zing Zangers
- Zonkers
See also
External links
clacker in Polish: Klik-klak