Novelties
Encyclopedia
A novelty item is a small manufactured adornment, especially a personal adornment.
Novelty items are generally devices that do not fit into another category such as gadgets, by virtue of being impractical, but this distinction is often blurred. Toy
s for adults are generally classed as novelties.
mathematician and astronomer Pierre Hérigone
(1580-1643) describes a novelty item that was a camera obscura
in the form of a goblet. Hérigone's goblet-camera obscura was http://www.precinemahistory.net/1650.htm]
One of the most popular novelty items in recent history was the Singing Big Mouth Billy Bass
, manufactured by Gemmy Industries
. It is rumoured that over 20 million original pieces were sold in 12 months during 2000 and 2001. The total amount of copies or knock offs sold is said to be greater than that.
Novelty item
This term covers a range of small manufactured goods, such as- antiques
- collectables
- chocolateChocolateChocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
s - esoterica
- executive toyExecutive toyAn executive toy is a novelty item that is usually a small mechanical gadget placed on the desk of a corporate executive or other office workers...
s - gadgetGadgetA gadget is a small technological object that has a particular function, but is often thought of as a novelty. Gadgets are invariably considered to be more unusually or cleverly designed than normal technological objects at the time of their invention...
s - toolToolA tool is a device that can be used to produce an item or achieve a task, but that is not consumed in the process. Informally the word is also used to describe a procedure or process with a specific purpose. Tools that are used in particular fields or activities may have different designations such...
s and implements
Novelty items are generally devices that do not fit into another category such as gadgets, by virtue of being impractical, but this distinction is often blurred. Toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
s for adults are generally classed as novelties.
History
The FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
mathematician and astronomer Pierre Hérigone
Pierre Hérigone
Pierre Hérigone was a French mathematician and astronomer.Of Basque origin, Hérigone taught in Paris for most of his life.-Works:...
(1580-1643) describes a novelty item that was a camera obscura
Camera obscura
The camera obscura is an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen. It is used in drawing and for entertainment, and was one of the inventions that led to photography. The device consists of a box or room with a hole in one side...
in the form of a goblet. Hérigone's goblet-camera obscura was http://www.precinemahistory.net/1650.htm]
One of the most popular novelty items in recent history was the Singing Big Mouth Billy Bass
Big Mouth Billy Bass
Big Mouth Billy Bass is an animatronic singing prop, representing a largemouth bass, popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The fish is made of rubber stretched over a mechanical frame; at first glance it appears to be a mounted game fish...
, manufactured by Gemmy Industries
Gemmy Industries
Gemmy Industries is a company founded in 1984, in Dallas, Texas. It is currently located in Coppell, Texas.It's known for producing Big Mouth Billy Bass. Other products include the Douglas Fir, the Spirit Ball, and the Snow Globe....
. It is rumoured that over 20 million original pieces were sold in 12 months during 2000 and 2001. The total amount of copies or knock offs sold is said to be greater than that.
List of novelty items
- X-Ray SpecsX-Ray Specs (novelty)X-Ray Specs are an American novelty item, purported to allow the user to see through or into solid objects. In reality the glasses merely create an optical illusion; no X-rays are involved...
- Snow globeSnow globeA snow globe is a transparent sphere, usually made of glass, enclosing a miniaturized scene of some sort, often together with a model of a landscape. The sphere also encloses the water in the globe; the water serves as the medium through which the "snow" falls. To activate the snow, the globe is...
- Foam Cheese Wedge HatCheeseheadCheesehead is a nickname, sometimes used disparagingly, referring to a person from Wisconsin, referring to the large volume of cheese production of the state...
- Lava lampLava lampA lava lamp is a decorative novelty item that contains blobs of colored wax inside a glass vessel filled with clear liquid; the wax rises and falls as its density changes due to heating from a incandescent light bulb underneath the vessel. The appearance of the wax is suggestive of pāhoehoe lava,...
- Plasma globe
- Newton's cradleNewton's cradleNewton's cradle, named after Sir Isaac Newton, is a device that demonstrates conservation of momentum and energy via a series of swinging spheres. When one on the end is lifted and released, the resulting force travels through the line and pushes the last one upward...
- Pink Plastic flamingoPlastic flamingoPink plastic flamingos are one of the most famous of lawn ornaments in the United States, along with the garden gnome and other such ornamentation....
- Talkie tapesTalkie tapesTalkie-Tapes are 24 inch long by 0.08 inches wide by 0.020 inches thick red plastic strip audio recordings. Similar to the groove on a record, but straightened out...
- DVD Rewinder