This wraps up any uncertainty about the authenticity of the Hobble Wobble, which seemed like it might have been artificially created to look like it was vintage. The name of the inventor made it easy to look up the patent this time. Harold Katz filed his patent in October of 1958 and finally received his patent in March of 1960. This short highlight article on the Wibbler must have been published sometime shortly after, making my original guess ( After the hula hoop in 1958 and before skateboard fad in 1964 ) pretty accurate. Somebody should pay me for this research. Hello Betsy? This is not skateboard related, you may cry, but I will endeavor to prove a direct connection in the following presentation. Can someone dim the lights please? [Photo: Ebay seller Catzuzan ]

This Barbie and Ginger toy dates back to 1997. Ginger is a battery powered dog that barks and walks, and can be used to tow Barbie on her skateboard, complete with little Hotwheels-style wheels. The top frame is a still from a creepy TV commercial. It may have been 1997, but the girl on the left looks like she’s stuck in a 60’s children’s book. The screen cap looks craptacular, but that’s as good as it gets. Someone digitized TV commercial in pre-hd days. The same low-res version with awful motion compression artifacts is all over the web under assorted watermarks. Unfortunately nobody’s uploaded a decent version of it, not that you’d want to watch it endlessly. It does have a sort of hypnotic quality to it, in a Jonestown massacre sort of way. – Thanks to Goofyfoot Rff for the tip.

The best friends are Fur Real Friends: Here comes Trixie, my skateboarding pup. The crowds are gonna show up. Rockin’ poses, to do tricks so sweet! We’re a team, that can’t be beat!

You could hope for such a thing, but this isn’t really a Grace Jones action figure. It’s a crappy Chinese-made toy. This ninja on a skateboard dates from 1989, courtesy of Stumblebaum.

Which came first, the egg, or the toy inside the egg? Technically not an Easter-specific toy, but it’s an egg riding a skateboard. This is a hard plastic version representing the actual chocolate egg which would contain a toy inside it. So it’s a self-referencing toy. In case this makes zero sense to you, Kinder Surprises are chocolate eggs with a tiny plastic toy inside. I thought this was a generic term, but apparently it’s a trade name, like Kleenex or Xerox. I thought it was vintage, but it dates to 2014 according to the seller.

I thought I read in Wired how Nerf had become the largest arms dealer (by volume) in the world, but I might have imagined it. I wonder if the Zombie Strike series was conceived to make it more palatable to parents who object to toy guns for kids. Probably not. This Zombie Strike Doublestrike pistol features an illustration of a skateboarder on the back. It’s a happy coincidence when a toy with skateboard packaging makes it into my home if wasn’t bought for me.

Like scooters, Donald Trump, and anything else that has outlived it’s usefulness, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles just won’t go away. TMNT has been enjoying a resurgence for a while now. While the animated series definitely surpasses the TMNT’s original incarnation, this incarnation of Mondo Gecko action figure is about as uninspired as it gets, especially when compared to the original toy.

Lego Friends sets are supposed to appeal to girls. This is set number 41099, known as Heartlake Skate Park. Like all Lego Friends kits, this one has lots of pinks and purples in the packaging. The mini figures are more detailed and lifelike. I suppose Lego doesn’t think girls have a good imagination. “Mia” comes with roller skates, a skateboard, and thankfully, no inline skates. Check out that street obstacle! looks like they chose not to go with a skater owned design/build firm.

Ahh… 2009. Much unlike the Tony Hawk Ride video game franchise, I’m still here, just busy. Fortunately for Tony, the Ride network has faired better.

Rich Burton’s significant other acquired this Taco Cabana cup in Texas way back in 1995, some 10 years before before getting together with Rich, and another 10 before Rich noticed it and sent a picture to me. If the hippies had their way, this invaluable piece of cultural history would have bio-degraded and been lost for all eternity. Now it’s up on the Interwebs, where it will last for all eternity, or until I let the domain name lapse, or the zombie apocalypse, or Sky Net becomes self aware. Enjoy this jalapeño pepper frontside 5-0 grind while you can.