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Panic Pete

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Novelty rubber squeeze toy
Panic Pete
A rubber squeeze toyPanic Pete
TypeSqueeze toy
Inventor(s)John M. Auzin
CompanySchylling
CountryUnited States
Availability1950–present
Panic Pete has protruding features when squeezed.

Panic Pete, also known as Jo-Bo, Obie, Gappy, The Martian Popping Doll, The Martian Popping Thing, Popping Martian or Bug-Out Bob is a novelty rubber squeeze toy invented by John M. Auzin.

History

John M. Auzin, born in 1889 in Kandava, Latvia, travelled to various countries during his early years before immigrating to Boston, Massachusetts at 16. There he took residence in Providence, Rhode Island and was later employed as a foreman at the Davol Rubber Company, a manufacturer of catheters and other rubber medical equipment. On May 24, 1947, Auzin filed a patent for a "squeezable pop-out action toy" with the ability to have protruding eyes, ears, and mouth when squeezed. Other designs, such as one with teeth or another squirting water, were also included in the patent. Though the patent was not accepted and published until February 9, 1954, the toy was being sold in stores as early as 1950, being named Jo-Bo and manufactured by Blake Industries. Marketed as a kiddy toy and party gimmick, Jo-Bo retailed at 79 cents before being lowered to 69 cents when the factory that produced them expanded in 1954. The Jo-Bo was being cleared from stores by late 1955.

By 1969 the Jo-Bo was being newly distributed by a novelty company called Elbee, located in San Antonio, Texas and manufactured in China. By 1978, the toy was rebranded and redesigned as more alien-like and being named the Obie. This version, being sold by Fort Worth computer company employee David Livingston, would be manufactured and sold from his own partnership between him, his father, and his father in-law and the toys would be assembled by the children of the Abilene State School for the Mentally Retarded. The Obie also had the option to be bought with a wooden base, being called the Executive Obie. Along with that, a green variant of it, resembling a pickle and called the Greenie Weenie, was also being sold in both department stores and novelty stores such as Spencer's Gifts. This toy was later named the Martian Cuke.

Later in 1985, Archie McPhee had started distributing the Obie design instead as The Popping Martian Doll, marketed as a stress toy and manufactured by a company named Aliko in Taiwan. By 1988 the name was changed to the Martian Popping Thing, and by 1991 was redesigned so that the mouth was a nose and the toy resembled a clown. This version was manufactured in Taiwan under that name until 2008 when it was then being distributed simultaneously by Schylling under the name Panic Pete and in 2007 as Bug-Out Bob when being distributed by Toysmith as well as the Popping Martian when being distributed by Tobar.

In 2007 John Livingston under his company JDL Engineering Associates Inc. started originalobie.com, a website dedicated to the sale of the OBIE. The original, as well as a neon version, could be bought here from 2007 to 2017, when the company fully transitioned to selling electronic cigarettes and e-liquid. In 2021 JDL would cease selling e-cigarettes and the website, vaping101.com, would be shut down due to an FDA violation.

By 2009 Schylling redesigned Panic Pete to have plastic balls for his protruding features, rather than having them be part of the rubber mold like previous versions. This is the only design still being manufactured.

In December 2022, Schylling announced a new Panic Pete version, NeeDoh Panic Pete. Though identical in design to their current iteration, the colors are instead various fluorescent colors. This is a combination between their two toy products, NeeDoh (a novelty squeeze ball), and Panic Pete.

In popular culture

Films

  • In The Beast Within, the doctor is seen squeezing a toy.
  • In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, Vanita Brock holds up an Obie/Martian Popping Doll.
  • In Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, an Obie is seen in Deacon's bedroom.
  • In Toys, a gigantic robotic head on the assembly floor of the toy factory resembles a Martian Popping Thing.
  • In Jurassic Park, Dennis Nedry uses a Martian Popping Thing as a stress toy.
  • In The Mask, a Martian Popping Thing is taken from Stanley Ipkiss when he is apprehended by the police.
  • In Small Soldiers, Irwin Mayfair and Larry Benson are seen handling a Panic Pete while listening to Alan Abernathy's voicemail.
  • In The Animal, Rob Schneider is seen using a Martian Popping Thing.
  • In Robots, one of Ratchet's employees can be seen squeezing a toy of a similar concept.
  • In The Boss Baby, a parody of the toy named "Señor Squeeky" is a background prop.

Television

Video games

Comics

  • In the comic book Robotmen of the Lost Planet, the titular robots have very similar designs compared to the original Jo-Bo.
  • A Jo-Bo toy can be seen in both Gothic Blimp Works #2 and Roxy Funnies from Jay Lynch.

See also

References

  1. Rhode Island, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1802-1945. Circuit Court, Rhode Island. 1922-12-15.
  2. Polk's Providence (Providence County, R.I.) city directory . Boston Public Library.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. United States. Patent Office (1947). Official gazette of the United States Patent Office [microform]. Washington: The Office.
  4. Auzin, John. "Squeezable pop-out action toy" (PDF). Google Patents. United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  5. "Tops in Toys; Stevenson Camera Shop". Battle Creek Enquirer. 1950-12-14. p. 34.
  6. ^ Playthings Magazine. 1954. p. 636. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  7. "Luckoff's Logan Christmas Savings Sale". The Logan Daily News. 1955-12-02. p. 3.
  8. Bhob. "Potrzebie". Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  9. "Meet Obie;he's a hot-selling doll". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 1980-05-29. p. 6.
  10. "McLead's Uncommon Jolly Good Gifts For a Joyful Christmas". The Wichita Eagle. 1980-12-06. p. 68.
  11. Tyson, Kim (1981-08-09). "What's Hot!". Austin American-Statesman. p. E20.
  12. "Martian Cuke - The Forgotten Cousin of the Martian Popping Thing". Slightly Less Disappointing Blog from Archie McPhee. 25 December 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-12-25. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  13. Archie McPhee Catalog. Archie McPhee. 1985. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  14. Mark, Pahlow (November 17, 2008). Who Would Buy This? The Archie McPhee Story. The Accoutrements Publishing Company. p. 24. ISBN 978-0978664978.
  15. "Vintage "The Martian Popping Thing" Toy". Industrial Artifacts. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  16. "Vintage PANIC PETE Squeeze Toy "Schylling" 2008 | #3762129562". Worthpoint. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  17. "Toysmith Bug Out Bob Toy | Walmart Canada". Walmart.ca. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  18. "Anti-stress martian". www.ledindon.com. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  19. "OBIE". JDL Associates. 2016-02-06. Archived from the original on 2016-05-05. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  20. Hills, Bryan (2017-03-07). "Closeout Letter to JDL Engineering Associates Incorporated". FDA. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  21. "Schylling PANIC PETE SQUEEZE TOY Fun-Office / School Fidget/Anxiety /ADHD". Poshmark. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  22. Schylling NeeDoh Panic Pete, retrieved 2023-03-16
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