# Gonk

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{{short description|Furry creature toy}}{{About|the novelty toy}}
'''Gonks''' are [novelty toy](/source/novelty_toy)s and [collectable](/source/collectable)s<ref name="Crazy">{{cite news|last=Macdonald|first=Iain|date=May 12, 1964|title=Just a Crazy Mixed up Gonk|page=12|newspaper=[Evening Times](/source/Evening_Times)|location=Glasgow|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=p-RAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DKcMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6023,1406112&dq=gonk+toy&hl=en|accessdate=September 5, 2015}}</ref> originating from the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) in the 1960s.

Created by English inventor Robert Benson, the toys gained popularity and were owned by celebrities including [Ringo Starr](/source/Ringo_Starr) and [Peter Sellers](/source/Peter_Sellers).<ref name="Crazy" /> The Gonks' signature features include a small, spherical body, a furry texture and two [googly eyes](/source/googly_eyes).{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} Some Gonks had outfits such as those of [Merseybeat](/source/Merseybeat) rockers and were marketed as collectibles. They were popular with children and their success was attributed to how they "can be made from almost any material and of any size."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Greenaway|first1=Gladys|title=Toy Making|last2=Greenaway|first2=Kathryn|date=1973|publisher=[Drake Publishers](/source/Drake_Publishers)|pages=30}}</ref> The appearance of some of these toys has been compared to the [op art](/source/op_art) movement.<ref>{{cite news|date=November 25, 1965|title='Living Dolls for Christmas|page=B-9|newspaper=[The Beaver County Times](/source/The_Beaver_County_Times)|location=Penn.|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7A4vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=stsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1776,5686012&dq=gonk+toy&hl=en|accessdate=September 5, 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Gonks from Australian fairground in late 1970s.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Gonks from a late-1970s [Australia](/source/Australia)n fairground event.]]

Redesigned gonks (cylinders rather than spheres) were introduced into [Australia](/source/Australia) by Tony Bell{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} in the 1970s. They were sold in skill testers and fairgrounds across New South Wales and Queensland.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

==History==
[Londoner](/source/London%2C_England) Robert Benson invented the original toys that achieved popularity in the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) in the 1960s.<ref name=BBC>{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8328921.stm|title=Cheaper toys 'are Christmas hits'|publisher=[BBC News](/source/BBC_News) |date=28 October 2009|access-date=5 September 2015}}</ref><ref name=Crazy/> The sale of the toys expanded to nations such as [Canada](/source/Canada) and the [United States](/source/United_States), where [Gund](/source/Gund) began to sell Gonks at a large scale, including inflatable vinyl versions.<ref name="Going">{{cite web|title=Going, Going, Gonk|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=he0eAQAAMAAJ&q=gonk+toy|work=[Newsweek](/source/Newsweek)|date = October 1964|pages=106, 109|volume=64|issue=2|accessdate=March 31, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Raiffe|first=Bruce S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-REzBp--LI8C&pg=PA103|title=Gund|author2=Alex Baron Raiffe|date=2005|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=9780738537108|series=Images of America|location=Charleston, SC|page=103|oclc=62380934|accessdate=March 31, 2013}}</ref>

Gonks are featured in the [title sequence](/source/film_title_design) of ''[Gonks Go Beat](/source/Gonks_Go_Beat)'', a 1965 [science-fiction film](/source/science_fiction_film) created by exploitation film director [Robert Hartford-Davis](/source/Robert_Hartford-Davis). 

==See also==
{{portal |1960s |Toys}}
* [Squirmles](/source/Squirmles)
* [Troll doll](/source/Troll_doll)
* [Weepul](/source/Weepul)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{wiktionary-inline|gonk}}

Category:Novelty items
Category:Stuffed toys
Category:1960s toys
Category:1970s toys

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gonk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonk) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonk?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.