NEW - Classic Multi-coloured Koosh Ball (Random Colours)

Brief History of The Koosh Ball:

In 1986, engineer Scott Stillinger was having trouble teaching his two young kids how to play catch. Balls were too bouncy, and bean bags too heavy. The California resident soon realised that he needed a better ball—one that was soft, wouldn't bounce, and could be grasped easily. He started with a box of rubber bands and then refined the design of his energy-absorbent ball, eventually settling on natural rubber latex in non-toxic colours.

In late 1986, Stillinger showed a prototype of the ball to his brother-in-law, Mark Button, who'd worked in marketing at Mattel. The men—and their wives—were confident enough in the product to quit their jobs and start a toy company called OddzOn Products.

In 1987 OddzOn Products ran a competition to come up with a name for their invention and after public voting from over 200 possible names, they eventually settled on Koosh Ball, which reportabdly they came up with after observing the sound it made when caught. Thy filed a US Patent for Koosh Ball in 1987.

The Koosh ball hit shelves in 1987, and by 1988, the ball—which a PR person for OddzOn described as a "cross between a porcupine and a bowl of Jell-O"—was a Christmastime bestseller. The next year, it was in 14,000 toy stores across the country and available in 20 countries around the world.

OddzOn Products was so wary of competitors stealing its secrets that it kept the exact location of its Silicon Valley manufacturing plant a secret.

Finally in 1994 Stillinger and Button decided to sell OddzOn to the New Jersey Company Russ Berrie and Co., they had sold 50 million Koosh balls and were making an estimated $30 million a year; the Koosh line consisted of 50 products, including key chains, finned footballs, and lawn darts. Hasbro purchased the company in 1997. Today, Hasbro licenses Koosh balls to the company Basic Fun.