Does anyone remember "Mexican Jumping Beans"?

[shoeshine]

It's strange how one's mind works when one approaches the "Senior" age, isn't it?

 

Sudden flashbacks to the past pop into my mind, with long-forgotten clarity.

 

I had one the other day, from when I was young during the late 1940's/very early 1950's ........ Jumping Beans.

 

My cousin (5 or 6 years older than I) had some!

 

I suppose children would be dissuaded from having them as "toys" these days, what with all the PC lunacy loose on the planet ...... but .....

 

Have you ever seen them? If so, what was your reaction?

 

I did a web search and discovered they are still available but I've no idea at which point they went out of fashion in the UK, but they are available in the USA.

 

Mexican Jumping Beans

[Merry_Legs]

I remember them, I used to think they worked by magic.

[Jabberwocky]

My dad used to make me Jumping beans... sort of... Parson Cross jumping beans... Ok to be more accurate, Parson cross slouching a bit beans.

 

He used to take a small ball bearing and some tin foil, loosely wrap the bearing in the foil and shake it backwards and forwards until the bearing had made a hollow space inside the foil, then he`d gently shape the outside into a bean shape and voi-laaaaaar! A Parson Cross slouching a bit bean!

 

Id spend hours rolling the damn thing down a slope made from a cardboard box.

[shoeshine]

I remember them, I used to think they worked by magic.

 

Same here, U_P

 

According to the website link I've put on here, they can be used in conjunction with some sort of board game(s).

[evildrneil]

I remember having some REAL Mexican jumping beans that I got when I went to the US. They were actual beans with a little grub inside them and when the beans got warm they squirmed in the bean making them jump

 

I was soooo disappointed when I found some more back in the UK and they were just capsule shells with a ball-bearing in

[shoeshine]

My dad used to make me Jumping beans... sort of... Parson Cross jumping beans... Ok to be more accurate, Parson cross slouching a bit beans.

 

He used to take a small ball bearing and some tin foil, loosely wrap the bearing in the foil and shake it backwards and forwards until the bearing had made a hollow space inside the foil, then he`d gently shape the outside into a bean shape and voi-laaaaaar! A Parson Cross slouching a bit bean!

 

Id spend hours rolling the damn thing down a slope made from a cardboard box.

 

But the real ones would roll themselves down the slope, Jabber.

 

I wonder how long the insect within its case would take to escape its captivity, and what sort of insect it was.

[shoeshine]

I remember having some REAL Mexican jumping beans that I got when I went to the US. They were actual beans with a little grub inside them and when the beans got warm they squirmed in the bean making them jump

 

I was soooo disappointed when I found some more back in the UK and they were just capsule shells with a ball-bearing in

 

Really?

 

I'm disappointed to hear that.

[evildrneil]

Really?

 

I'm disappointed to hear that.

 

Yup - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_jumping_beans

 

You got about 3 of them in a little plastic box and then if you carried them around in your pocket and they got hot they would rattle away for hours as the little beans hopped up and down!

[Jabberwocky]

Theres a British version- Im not sure what the plant was but there was a shrub in the garden that was often attacked by an insect- the leaves where the insect burrowed to lay its eggs would swell up into a red lump about the size of your little finger nail. We used to peel away the healthy leaf and then we`d be left with the red lump, and when this was warmed up in the sun it would hop around as the larvae inside started to get active.

[Powerage]

I had some of the plastic ones sometime in the early 70's I was fascinated by them and couldnt work out why they jumped.

 

Brings back happy memories.