thundersticks
{{Short description|Noise makers}}
{{For|the Western Australia field hockey team|Smokefree WA Thundersticks}}
{{Redirect|Thunder stick||Bullroarer}}
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File:Thundersticks at Club América & Real Madrid friendly match 2010-08-04 2.JPG soccer team]]
Image:20081017 Kansas Midnight Madness thundersticks.jpg celebrate Late Night at the Phog with thundersticks]]
Thundersticks, sometimes known as bambams, are long, narrow plastic balloons that are used as promotional noise makers. The noise is created when two thundersticks are struck together. They are most often used at sporting events.
Origin and popularity
Thundersticks, known as makdae pungseon ({{Korean|hangul=막대풍선}}, {{Literal translation|stick balloons}}) in South Korea, were created by BalloonStix Korea and first used in 1994 at an LG Twins baseball game.{{cite web|title=막대풍선이란?|url=http://www.balloonstix.com/sub/sub02_01.php|website=벌룬스틱스 코리아 주식회사|access-date=28 March 2017}}{{cite web|title=전태수 사장이 밝히는 막대풍선의 역사|url=http://news.donga.com/3//20081027/8649242/1|website=동아닷컴|access-date=28 March 2017|language=ko|date=27 October 2008}}{{cite book|last1=Mercer|first1=Bobby|title=ManVentions: From Cruise Control to Cordless Drills - Inventions Men Can't Live Without|date=18 March 2011|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781440510748|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ehjrDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT87|access-date=28 March 2017|language=en}} They later gained popularity in North America when they were used by fans of the Anaheim Angels during the 2002 World Series. Today thundersticks are used by fans of many sports teams in order to show their support, serving a similar purpose as the Homer Hanky associated with the Minnesota Twins and the Terrible Towel associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Thundersticks have appeared around the world at many sporting events. They are regularly seen in baseball games in Taiwan, basketball games in the Philippines, and football matches throughout Europe, but sometimes under different names such as "bangers".{{Cite news |date=2014-06-13 |title=Who Made That Inflatable Noisemaker? (Published 2014) |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/15/magazine/who-made-that-inflatable-noisemaker.html |access-date=2023-08-14 |last1=Engber |first1=Daniel }}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{commons category-inline}}
{{Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim}}
Category:Inflatable manufactured goods