SuperBall also known as Bouncy Balls if made by different manufacturers first arrived in 1965,  they were small but thoroughly amazing rubber balls which were capable of bouncing very high and claimed to be able to bounce more than three stories high.

Super Balls were invented in 1964 by chemist Norman Stingley, the balls were an immediate sensation with American children,  the Super Ball offered extra bounce and surprise to a normal game of catch. They initially sold for 98 cents, by the end of 1966 they were 10 cents in vending machines as the fad had passed.

The material was likened to the fictional rubber like Flubber material created by the character in the 1961 Disney movie The Absent Minded Professor. They were made from many ingredients mainly polymers and silicas and pressed together under great pressure to combine them into a ball which offers bounce and the ability to alter its shape slightly upon impacts.

By the end of 1965, the Wham-O company had sold more than 6 million Super Balls, at it is claimed 20 million in the 1960s in total. Even several dozen were purchased by McGeorge Bundy who was an adviser to President Lyndon Johnson, who purchased the high-bouncing toys for White House staffers. Can you imagine them bouncing them off the White House walls or through the corridors?

In the late 1960s Wham-O made a Huge Super Ball version which was roughly the size of a bowling ball, as a promotional stunt. It fell from the 23rd story window of an Australian hotel (or some reports say, from the roof) and destroyed a parked convertible car on the second bounce, impressive.

Todays versions do not bounce as high as the older style, but they are better in chipping less on rough surfaces and coming in more colors and sturdy materials.