Deely bobber

[4] Stephen Askin invented the original deely bobber in 1981, inspired by the "Killer Bees" costumes on Saturday Night Live.

[5] Askin was a former stockbroker and serial entrepreneur who had sold dartboards depicting Ayatollah Khomeini during the Iran hostage crisis of 1980.

[6][7] Askin made prototype Deely Bobbers in his kitchen and test-marketed them at the Los Angeles Street Fair of summer 1981, selling 800 at $5 each.

[6] He sold the invention to the Ace Novelty Co. of Bellevue, Washington, which launched it in January 1982 at the California Gift Fair.

At the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee, 10,000 a day were sold;[6] total sales by August were estimated at two million,[1] with Askin getting 5% of the wholesale price.