Talk:Jack-in-the-box

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Deeemarie. Peer reviewers: Ahenry131313, Zeecarter.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 00:59, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Untitled
"The toy also frequently appears in horror movies". Which movies would that be? Melchoir 03:27, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

I reverted what I thought was a spurious edit about the Jack in the Box chain having at least one person die because of them, checking the article itself, it claims four people died from ecoli! Anyway I don't think that part of the company's history needs to be inlcuded in this article. --Alf melmac 22:32, 4 January 2006 (UTC) gfdhfgfjhkgkj
 * I agree, so I've reverted it again. The issue is covered in the Jack in the Box article. -- Mikeblas 20:20, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Reverted link to a 'theory' on name origin that referenced someone's unsupported claims on a forum. Could find no real reference for the theory, and it used the same name "john Schorne" as the 13th century one. --205.206.70.41 06:31, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

I really think the "live captured runaway slave in a wooden box" theory here needs some kind of source. It sounds far-fetched to me. Thedoorhinge 16:51, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
 * I should mention, yes there is a souce, kind of, but it seems to be a blog, and the link doesn't go anywhere as far as I can tell. Thedoorhinge 16:53, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Regarding the origin of the name, would it come from Iachimo in Shakespeare's Cymbeline? He hid in a box to gain entry to Imogen's bedchamber, and came out at night.Wussager (talk) 10:31, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Theory of its origin
The article used to have the claim;

Historian/Journalist Pete Patterson(Of the Fubar News Network) believes there's a much more controversial history behind the toy. According to his article (found here) "The original Jacks weren’t actually clowns, but instead runaway slaves ("Jacks" in slang.) The first Jack in a box was actually a live captured runaway slave in a wooden box. Often times children playing where they shouldn't, would jam sharpened wooden sticks though the knotholes of the boxes. In reaction the "Jack" inside would yelp, and often times bust though the top of the box..... In 1832 a young music box maker, John Schorne, inspired by his childhood antics, began hand crafting and selling Jack in The Boxes. The simple music box would cranked and POP out came a crudely crafted black man on a spring. The idea quickly took off as one of the first novelty gifts."

Why was it deleted? Undead Herle King (talk) 02:16, 7 December 2008 (UTC)

Probably because it's pretty clearly crap. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.55.146.25 (talk) 01:51, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

reverting ip edits that construe vandalism
Reverted some edits that were mistakenly posted to this page instead of the fast food chain's page. --RichardMills65 (talk) 00:51, 8 March 2012 (UTC)

Hyperlinks
I added hyperlinks to the distributors Wikipedia pages Ahenry131313 (talk) 16:03, 29 October 2018 (UTC)

adding information
After much research, I decided to add to the lead section about how the toy was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Also, I added about how the toy has evolved and what companies distribute the toy. If you don't agree with any of the information please let me know! Deeemarie (talk) 17:09, 29 October 2018 (UTC)deeemarie

Source for "Claus" story?
Hi, after going through the sources for the section on the history of the Jack-in-the-box, I can't seem to find a reliable source which corroborates the "claus" german toymaker story. The two citations linked (5 and 6) aren't exactly reputable, and any source which has the "Claus" story seems to be either an auction site or a content mill.

If anyone happens to find a reliable source to verify the history, I'd be very interested. Ambiguousname (talk) 00:11, 5 April 2024 (UTC)


 * Update: Using WikiBlame, I found what seems to be the original source for the Claus claim, at least on Wikipedia:, which goes with this edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jack-in-the-box&diff=prev&oldid=371488761. I also managed to find the author's list of cited works on that page: . The most likely culprit for this claim could be the author's citation of Joan Bel Geddes. If I can find any mention of jack-in-the-boxes from what I can get my hands on, I'll update again. Ambiguousname (talk) 00:48, 5 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Further updates: I found this in the Bel Geddes book (1997, Page 284): "A permanently beloved toy that works by a simple spring was invented in the sixteenth century, when the first jack-in-a-box popped up and began to play peekabo with children."
 * There is no mention of Claus, and I'd like another source for this claim, so I'm going to go through the bibliography for Chapter 8 (where the passage is) to see what backs up this claim. Ambiguousname (talk) 21:54, 11 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Further research gives me the source "Peepshow into Paradise: A History of Children's Toys" by Lesley Gordon, published in 1953. On page 174 the claim appears again:
 * "The jack-in-a-box was known as early as the sixteenth century..." There's also mention of a Japanese jack-in-a-box that whistles. The author doesn't cite sources by chapter, but instead lists them alphabetically in the back. This may take a while, but I so far remain determined to get to the bottom of this pile. Ambiguousname (talk) 21:28, 25 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Sources 6 and 7 are not reliable and should be deleted, so we definitely need new sources. I will look for some too. Pontificalibus 19:04, 26 April 2024 (UTC)