Novelty | mechanical toy:Yakity-YakTalking Teeth

The notion of making a novelty or gag item of chattering teeth strucktoy designer Eddy Goldfarb after he had seen an advertisement for something called a Tooth Garage, a container for soaking false teeth. At the time, Goldfarb had returned from his military duty after World War II, and he joined toy designer Marvin Glass (later of Kerplunk, Mousetrap, Operation, Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots fame) in creating and selling toys and novelties. Tim Walsh's "The Playmakers" quotes Goldfarb: "Anyway, it struck me as being very funny and that's where I got the idea." Goldfarb licensed his clicking teeth, called Yakity-Yak Talking Teeth, to H. Fishlove & Company for production and distribution. The successor to that company, now called Fun, Inc. sells the teeth to this day as The Original TalkingTeeth. Goldfarb created other gag toys with a toothy theme, and many years later he mused, "Now listen, I'm not very proud of these items, but I do have a sense of humor." Toysmith, a company that specializes in making classic toys has found a winner in reproducing this popular if goofy novelty.