Did you know that the person who invented Bop It! is a designer of bottles for toilet bowl cleaner?
In the early 1990s, Dan Klitsner was a designer of consumer products. But he truly wanted to enter the toy industry. And soon after, he achieved his dream, giving rise to one of the most innovative toys of the 1990s: Bop It!
The Inspiration Behind Bob It!
It was in 1993 when the idea of the hit toy Bop It! came to Klitsner.
According to Mental Floss, he was sitting in his studio when he began contemplating how he could get kids off of the couch and actually move a little. He then thought it would be amusing to have a remote control that controlled the kids. One had to break the hammer-shaped remote control in order to change channels. Turning a knob was necessary to change the volume.
Klitsner came up with a prototype that included a twist, pull, and "bop" action and dubbed them Remote Out-of-Controls.
How Bob It! Was Created
As per Adweek, the scouts for the toy companies weren't interested with Klitsner's idea, which was unfortunate for the young inventor. However, after a little more experimenting with his prototype, the thought struck him: What if he flipped the entire plan so that the kids control the game rather than the other way around?
He then created a foam prototype in the form of a baton and recorded commands using his own voice. Mental Floss pointed out that the well-known "D'oh" phrase from Homer Simpson would play if a player didn't finish a task in the right order.
Even though Homer's lines were cut from the final version, in a 2009 episode, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie are playing the game Bonk It with such vigor that Homer accidentally runs off the road.
Hasbro Licensed the Toy
Klitsner consented to provide Hasbro a license, and the toy was successfully sold after its 1996 launch. As per Mental Floss, Klitsner was forewarned by the manufacturer that toys have a shelf life and that Bop It! might only last three more years. However, Bop It! defied expectations by posting higher sales in the subsequent year.
Over the next two decades, Bop It! has gone through a number of iterations, including Bop It! Bounce, Bop It! Blast, and Bop It! Smash. Tetris and the Bratz doll brand both had tie-ins. There have been miniature variations, such as a keychain.
Sing It and Selfie It commands were included in the 2016 version to better reflect the times. The majority of them are voiced by Buddy Rubino, who took over as Bop It!'s vocal performer in 2008.
You may wonder how popular the Bop It! toy is. According to Klitsner's estimation, approximately 30 million Bop It! Have been sold since the rollout.
