Clackers

For other uses, see Clackers (disambiguation).

Clackers are toys which were popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s.^[1] They consisted of two 2 cm, hard balls suspended on string which were swung up and down so they banged against each other, making a clacking sound. Clackers are similar in appearance to the Argentinian weapons, bolas.

They are formed out of two hard plastic balls, each about two cm in diameter, attached to a tab with a sturdy string. The player holds the tab, with the balls hanging below. Through a gentle up-and-down hand motion, the two balls swing apart and back together, making the clacking noise that give the toy its name. With practice, it is possible to make the balls swing so that they knock together above the hand as well as below.

History

Noise making clackers were used to frighten birds away in the nineteenth century.^[2]

Safety hazard

Clackers were discontinued when children were injured while playing with them. Fairly heavy and fast-moving and made of hard acrylic plastic, the balls could shatter upon striking each other, which was dangerous.

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.

Renewal

The toys enjoyed a brief renewal of popularity in the 1990s when clackers consisting of a handle and plastic triangles with the plastic balls 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 1972 movie Beware! The Blob, there is a humorous scene where boy scouts are playing with clackers.

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".

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See also

• Newton's cradle

References

1. ^ Working the web: Retro toys The Guardian, 2001-07-26.
2. ^ clacker, n. Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition.

External links

• BBC.net: 1971

This game-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Toys of the 1970s Physical activity and dexterity toys Game stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР Henry Sewell Virginia Hill Look at other dictionaries: Clackers — Recorded as Clack, Clacke, Clacks, Clackers, Clackery, Clackett, Clackitt, Clagget, and no doubt others, this interesting suname is English. It derives from the pre 7th century word clacc originally given as a nickname to a chatterer, one who… …   Surnames reference Clackers cereal — Clackers was the name of a breakfast cereal that the General Mills Corporation manufactured and marketed in the 1960s and 1970s. Noted for being promoted through television advertisements in which a box of the cereal would suddenly appear and… …   Wikipedia Clackers (disambiguation) — Clackers may refer to: Clackers, a 1970s toy A term for editorial staff at the fictional fashion magazine in the novel The Devil Wears Prada A term for computer operators in the novel The Difference Engine. Clackers cereal, a type of cereal made… …   Wikipedia clackers — /klak euhrz/, n. (used with a sing. or pl. v.) any of various percussion toys consisting of balls or blocks joined by a cord. [1630 40, for an earlier sense; CLACK + ER1 + S3] * * * …   Universalium clackers — n pl Scottish balls (in both the literal and figurative slang senses). The word, recorded in the early 1990s, was the name of a fashiona ble children s toy of the 1970s consisting of two plastic balls on a string wound round the fingers and… …   Contemporary slang clackers — n. percussion toy comprised of a ball connectedby a cord; (Informal) dentures, false teethn. chatterer …   English contemporary dictionary clackers — crackles …   Anagrams dictionary clackers — /ˈklækəz/ (say klakuhz) plural noun Colloquial false teeth. {clack + er1 + s3} …   clackers — /klak euhrz/, n. (used with a sing. or pl. v.) any of various percussion toys consisting of balls or blocks joined by a cord. [1630 40, for an earlier sense; CLACK + ER1 + S3] …   Useful english dictionary crackles — clackers …   Anagrams dictionary 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”