Gonk
Gonks are
in the 1960s.Created by English inventor Robert Benson, the toys gained popularity and were owned by celebrities including
Merseybeat rockers and were marketed as collectibles. They were popular with children and their success was attributed to how they "can be made from almost any material and of any size."[2] The appearance of some of these toys has been compared to the op art movement.[3]
Redesigned (cylinders rather than spheres) gonks were introduced into Australia by Tony Bell[citation needed] in the 1970s. They were sold in skill testers and fairgrounds across New South Wales and Queensland.[citation needed]
History
Londoner Robert Benson invented the original toys that achieved popularity in the United Kingdom in the 1960s.[4][1] The sale of the toys expanded to nations such as Canada and the United States, where Gund began to sell Gonks at a large scale, including inflatable vinyl versions.[5][6]
Gonks are featured in the title sequence of Gonks Go Beat, a 1965 science-fiction film created by exploitation film director Robert Hartford-Davis.
See also
References
- ^ Evening Times. Glasgow. p. 12. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
- ^ Greenaway, Gladys; Greenaway, Kathryn (1973). Toy Making. Drake Publishers. p. 30.
- ^ "'Living Dolls for Christmas". The Beaver County Times. Penn. November 25, 1965. p. B-9. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
- ^ "Cheaper toys 'are Christmas hits'". BBC News. 28 October 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
- ^ "Going, Going, Gonk". Newsweek. October 1964. pp. 106, 109. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
- OCLC 62380934. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
External links
The dictionary definition of gonk at Wiktionary
