Tickle Me Elmo facts for kids
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| Type | Toddler/kid toy |
|---|---|
| Inventor(s) | Tyco Preschool |
| Company | Tyco Toys |
| Country | UK/US/Canada |
| Availability | 1996–present |
Tickle Me Elmo is a fun plush toy that looks like Elmo from the famous kids' TV show, Sesame Street. This toy was made by Tyco Preschool, a part of Tyco Toys. When you give Elmo a squeeze, he starts to shake, vibrate, and laugh with his well-known "Uh-ha-ha-ha-hee-hee!" giggle.
The toy first came out in the United States in 1996. It quickly became super popular, especially during the Christmas shopping season that year. People really wanted this toy, and sometimes, there were even arguments because there weren't enough of them in stores. The toy usually cost about $28.99, but some people were selling it for much, much more online and in newspapers by the end of 1996.
Contents
The Tickle Me Elmo Craze
Tickle Me Elmo was first released in July 1996, with about 400,000 toys available. As the Christmas shopping season got closer, Tyco Preschool ordered 600,000 more dolls. The toy got a big boost when Rosie O'Donnell showed it on her popular TV show in early October. This made many more people want an Elmo toy, leading to shortages in stores a couple of months later.
Because the new toy was so hard to find, it caused a huge "shopping frenzy." In Chicago, some people argued over the doll. In New York, people even ran after delivery trucks, hoping to get an Elmo before it reached the stores. Someone in Denver reportedly bought a Tickle Me Elmo for $7,100! A radio station in Los Angeles held an auction for charity, and one Tickle Me Elmo sold for $18,500.
A store worker at a Wal-Mart in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, was hurt during a special sale on December 14. A crowd of 300 shoppers rushed down an aisle after seeing him with a box of the toys. He was pushed down and got several injuries. By the end of December 1996, all one million Tickle Me Elmo toys had been sold.
More Tickle Me Toys
After the huge success of Tickle Me Elmo, Tyco released new "Tickle Me" toys in early 1997. These toys featured other characters from Sesame Street, like Tickle Me Ernie and Tickle Me Big Bird, and later Tickle Me Cookie Monster. While these toys sold well, none became as famous as the original Tickle Me Elmo. When Tickle Me Elmo was re-released, smaller versions of Mini Tickle Me Cookie Monster and Mini Tickle Me Ernie also came out.
In 2001, a "Surprise Edition" of Tickle Me Elmo was released. This was part of a special contest. Five of these "Surprise Edition" Elmos stopped laughing on January 9, 2002. Instead, they told the people squeezing them that they had won a prize! The biggest prize was US$200,000.
TMX Elmo
For the tenth anniversary of Tickle Me Elmo in 2006, Fisher-Price released a new Elmo doll called TMX. This name stands for "Tickle Me (Elmo) Ten." This toy was designed by Bruce Lund. Unlike the first Elmo that just vibrated, the TMX Elmo rolls around on the floor, laughs, and hits his fist on the ground, acting like he wants you to stop tickling him.
The full look of the TMX doll was kept a secret until it was shown live on ABC's Good Morning America and arrived in stores on September 19, 2006. Toy experts said that keeping the doll a secret for so long was very unusual. Only a few media people were allowed to see it early, and they had to sign special papers promising not to tell anyone. The toy's box was designed so you couldn't see the doll without buying it. It needed six AA batteries and cost about $40.
Toy experts were very impressed with the TMX Elmo. One expert said, "This is a huge step forward in plush toys for young kids." He thought sales would be high, but maybe not as crazy as the first Elmo. However, some people in the media still expected a big rush. Toys "R" Us stores and Amazon offered pre-sales for the doll. Amazon even took more pre-orders than they could fill. Just like with the first Tickle Me Elmo, people went to great lengths to get the new TMX toy. In Tampa, someone was reportedly threatened to hand over a TMX toy. This event was even made fun of on Saturday Night Live.
TMX Elmo and other toys helped Mattel's earnings grow by six percent in the fall of 2006. TMX also helped increase sales of other Elmo toys. In January 2007, Mattel announced they would release TMX Friends, featuring Elmo, Ernie, and Cookie Monster.
eXtra Special Edition
For the Christmas 2007 season, Fisher-Price released another version of Tickle Me Elmo with hidden surprises. Mattel created a website with rhyming clues to help find these special messages.
LOL Elmo
Playskool released the toy again as LOL Elmo. No pictures of the toy were shown until the American International Toy Fair in 2012. At the Hasbro showroom, there was a sign that said "Laughter Unleashed! Fall 2012" with a video of kids giggling. The toy was released in September 2012 and is also known as Tickle Time Elmo.
Tickle Me Elmo (2017)
Playskool made a new version of this toy again in 2017 as part of their Playskool Friends lineup. It acts much like the original 1996 version but has more phrases, such as "Elmo is one ticklish monster." This toy came out in August 2017 and could be found at stores like Walmart, Books A Million, Best Buy, Target, and Toys R Us.
