“The very best thing of all is the counter on this ball.”

Perhaps the very best thing about the 1994 commercial for Skip-It was that catchy and likeable slogan.

The Skip-It toy was an outdoor phenomenon comparable to the Slip-N-Slide, pogo stick and sidewalk chalk. Targeted at youth during the 90s, the toy was comprised of a ball attached to a leash-like anklet that one would rotate around their leg in rapid succession in an attempt to skip over the ball (accompanied with a counter!).

So whatever happened to this ubiquitous spherical plaything?

Obviously with the technology of present time, a Skip-It just doesn’t compare with the likes of Wii Sports for “quality” exercise. But since the item used to be such a coveted children’s toy, it seems pretty unfortunate that the Skip-It would just skip off the face of the Earth.

I know my Skip-It was either sold at our annual garage sale or is hidden somewhere in the musty depths of my garage’s abyss. It’s pretty unfortunate, but I guess Skip-Its can’t measure up on the fun scale when technology is inventing better ways to pass time for kids.

Freshman Shannon Fortenbery agreed, saying the disappearance of Skip-It was because “kids got sick of playing with a plastic ball when things like Tamagotchis came around.”

But how many of us today are pining for and dying to be reunited with that Skip-It we used to have again, even if it’s just for a few hops around its plastic orb?

“I miss my Skip-It more than I miss my Lite Brite,” sophomore Michael Levenick said. “All the neighborhood girls came over because they loved (my Skip-It).”

Freshman Aisha Ray agreed.

“I wish I had my Skip-It for a day because those things were too fun,” Ray said.

Nowadays, the most common place to find a Skip-It is either in the depths of childhood toy chests or on eBay. This is if you’re looking for the original and genuine old school Skip-It.

Apparently at stores like Toys-R-Us, Skip-Its are available in a new generation, fully equipped with charms and stickers for the Paris Hilton-esque consumers who want to bling out their Skip-Its. It seems that the only way to bring back the Skip-It in its full throttle glory would be if the company turned the Skip-It into a technologically savvy toy that doubled as an iPod, cell phone and personal organizer. It probably wouldn’t hurt to have a 20th Century- friendly counter on the ball either.

Todd is a freshman print journalism major and guest columnist for The Spectator.