If you Google "who invented bobbleheads?" you'll get as many answers as there are bobbleheads. No one seems to agree on the origins of these venerable figures. The character that started the current craze was Willy Mays, developed as a marketing give-away for the San Francisco Giants. But bobbleheads were around long before the "Say Hey Kid" picked up a bat or fielded a ball.

If you believe the Wiki, the toy was first mentioned in literature in 1842. About a hundred years later, bobbleheads of papier maché hit the market and ten years later, Major League Baseball released a bobblehead for each of its teams. All of them had the same face.

At the end of the 90s, bobbleheads were everywhere. And they're not just for sports fans anymore. There are bobbleheads made in the image of TV and movie characters, political figures, rock stars and Winners. Like the Beanie Baby, bobbleheads started as a surprise fad and became a lasting part of popular culture. And why not? These days they can talk, sing and even fart. What's not to love about a Thing with such a rich evolutionary history?

See you next week,
Bobby