
People are only just realising what Pog stands for
They were one of the most popular toys of the 1990s.
In fact, few children's bedrooms in Britain were without 'pogs' 30 years ago.
The flat little cardboard disks – typically featuring the likes of Bugs Bunny or Bart Simpson on the front – came free in packets of crisps.
And they were some of the most hotly-sought tradeables in the school playgrounds nationwide.
But as pogs rack up some healthy sums on eBay, people are only just realising what the word stands for.
Pogs were actually a children's game, although arguably their primary use in the 1990s Britain was as a treasured collectable.
Players would take turns trying to flip as many of the little stacked cylinders as possible.
To do this, they'd use a 'slammer', a heavier disk usually made of thick plastic or even metal.
Although many people don't know it, the word 'pog' is an acronym.
An acronym is simply an abbreviation consisting of the first letters of other words, pronounced as a single word.
You probably would never have guessed it, but 'pog' stands for 'passionfruit, orange and guava'.
And although this may seem random, it gives a tantalizing glimpse into the toy's early history.
POG, or 'Passion Orange Guava', was a tropical juice drink created in Hawaii in 1971 by Mary Soon, a food product consultant who worked for Haleakala Dairy.
Throughout the 1970s, the company sold bottles of the juice drink with caps printed with the POG logo.
Gradually, children of Hawaii started to use the POG caps to play the game, which actually dates back to the 1920s or 1930s (when it was known as 'milk caps').
The bottle caps came to be called 'pogs' in Hawaii, but it wasn't until the 1990s when the pog craze really took off globally.
People are taking to X (Twitter) after discovering what 'pog' stands for - passionfruit, orange and guava
The use of the juice's caps to play the game preceded the game's commercialization, which turned pogs into a global phenomenon in the 1990s
The 1990s revival is credited to Blossom Galbiso, a teacher who taught at Waialua Elementary School in Oahu, Hawaii's most populated island.
In 1991, she introduced the game that she'd played as a girl to her students and it gradually spread around the island.
By 1992, Stanpac Inc, a Canadian packaging company that had been manufacturing the caps for Haleakala Dairy, was printing millions of milk caps every week for shipment to Hawaii.
Finally, the craze spread to the United States mainland, first surfacing in California, Texas, Oregon, and Washington before spreading nationwide and then across the world.
A generation later, pogs can be many times their original value, reflecting the public craze for any things retro.
If you still have pogs in your attic untouched since the 1990s, it might be worth taking a look at them to see if any are limited edition.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Giffords Circus: Laguna Bay review – cheeky, magical and bucketfuls of fun
The celebrations kick off in a low-key fashion. It's been 25 years of Giffords Circus and Tweedy the Clown is larking about with a deck chair. It's all very silly and very British; an unassuming vaudeville act that takes great skill but mainly just feels full of joy. My four-and-a-half-year-old son, Benji, is up way past his bedtime but is having a ball watching a show that celebrates the tremendous skill of Giffords' performers – but also their passion and commitment, which light up Laguna Bay with a special kind of warmth and magic. A feeling of family runs through all Giffords productions. Lots of the performers are related and most have been working in circus their whole lives. The show is also performed in memory of founder Nell Gifford, which imbues everything with a delicate sort of tenderness. The Ethio-Salem Troupe have been with Giffords Circus from the beginning and, in costumes that explode with colour, they bounce wildly about the circus tent. First they throw skittles. Then they throw themselves. Later they'll jump through hoops and, finally, through fire. All of it feels effortless, somehow very human and full of love. Ahead of the show, Benji and I read the programme notes and come across Pablo and Vickki Garcia's act, A Sensation in the Sky. I warn Benji there won't be an actual plane. Same goes for Daniela Muñoz Landestoy andNoémi Novákovics's hair-hanging act. They may not actually be hanging from their hair. But I'm wrong. The Garcias dangle from a plane the couple made themselves. At one point, Vickki Garcia seems to be holding on to the plane – and spinning wildly – with just her mouth. The hair hangers really do dangle from their hair. Benji cannot believe what he is seeing. There's so much more, in a night crafted with precision and ease by director Cal McCrystal and choreographer Kate Smyth. The show's loose theme is 50s America, so there's a bubblegum aesthetic to proceedings and a relaxed and romantic feel to the live onstage music. Nothing seems like hard work – even when aerial artist Randy Forgione Vega is soaring overhead ('He's like Iron Man,' cries Benji) or the Garcia brothers (sons of Pablo and Vickki) are contorting their bodies in ways unimaginable, all while wearing silly pyjamas and cheeky smiles. Tweedy the Clown has been with Giffords Circus for more than 20 years and is a constant presence on stage, playfully undermining the acts and keeping things light. The night's best skit doesn't involve high-wire stunts, dancing horses or dazzling magic. It features giant tubs of fake ice-cream and lashings of water (mostly splashed over the audience). Another highlight sees Tweedy pull a white ribbon out of his mouth. Over and over again. Benji shouts out gleefully: 'Will it go on for ever?' And if Benji had anything to do with it, that ribbon would just keep on spiralling, way past his bedtime and into his dreams. At Chiswick House and Gardens, London, until 22 June. Then touring until 28 September.


The Review Geek
3 hours ago
- The Review Geek
Pump Up the Healthy Love – K-drama Episode 12 Recap, Review & Ending Explained
Episode 12 Episode 12 of Pump Up the Healthy Love begins with Mi-ran and Hyeon-joong dating in secret with lots of giggles and hand-holding involved. However, the three gym regulars soon reveal that everyone already knows they are dating. The two officially make their relationship public. However, things aren't as rosy as they seem. The gym soon experiences a leak in the ceiling. The plumber tells them that they will have to redo the pipes and the ceiling if they want to keep functioning. Of course, the landlord refuses to help. The first thing to go is a brand new piece of equipment that Hyeon-joong endearingly called Mi-cheon. A woman agrees to buy the machine but while they are moving it, Hyeon-joong ends up injured. He lands up in the hospital with a fractured rib and sprained wrists. Soon, the gym loses electricity as well. Hyeon-joong is worried about losing the place he calls home but Mi-ran assures him that he isn't alone, and together, they can work things out. But she ends up in a conundrum when she goes to work the next day — her boss tells her she has been accepted for the Hawaii program! If she goes, she will have to spend a year there. She goes home and seeks advice from Ji-ran and Dan, who say that leaving someone while they are struggling is tantamount to betrayal. Later, she visits the hospital but Hyeon-joong isn't there. She finds him at the gym instead. He's worried and leans on her for support. As a result, Mi-ran is ready to tell her boss that she can't go to Hawaii. However, this leads to a fight between her and Ye-jin, her colleague. Ye-jin is jealous of the opportunity but she tells Mi-ran to value it since she worked hard to get it. Everyone overhears the argument, including Joon-seok. He takes Mi-ran aside and speaks to her. He points out that she's making a decision for a man again. He then pulls a wig off his head to reveal a scantily clad scalp. He says this was the real reason for him not sleeping with Mi-ran, he was afraid of showing her this side of him. She realises that her body was never the problem. She admits that she's spent all this time wanting the love of other people but she didn't love herself. She runs over to see Hyeon-joong and tells him that despite all her misgivings, she wants to go to Hawaii. He supports her decision and tells her to chase her dreams. He, in fact, berates her for not telling him before. Hyeon-joong then tells Rosa and Alex that since the gym is close to shutting down, Roy has offered to hire Rosa and Alex. The 24-hour health club then officially closes. The members pack their things and say goodbyes. Although Hyeon-joong promises to open a new gym in six months. Rosa then tells Roy she can't work with him because she has feelings for him. He tells her he's opening a new branch and will work there. She will be the director at the original branch. She's delighted and takes up the offer. The gym staff and members have one last party aka a workout session at the gym. Afterwards, Director Dong gives Hyeon-joong a visit. He thanks Hyeon-joong for protecting the gym all this time. He's now off to Venice and tells Hyeon-joong to visit. At work, everyone bids Mi-ran goodbye. Ye-jin even gives her all her research from her honeymoon in Hawaii. We then shift to the airport. Hyeon-joong gives Mi-ran a letter with a workout schedule and after one last hug, she leaves. One year later, Rosa and Alex are flourishing at Roy's gym. They haven't heard from Hyeon-joong in a while. Dan and Ji-ran are singing their original song when Dan proposes to her. Mi-ran then calls Ji-ran and tells her to pick her up from the airport next week. Ji-ran asks about Hyeon-joong but Mi-ran just puts the phone down. Even the three gym regulars wonder where he is and what he's up to. When they leave the restaurant they're eating at, Hyeon-joong appears in front of them. He takes them to his new gym which turns out to be on the roof of a building. Roy, Rosa and Alex arrive as well. Hyeon-joong says he spent a year studying his customers. He worked at an office and even spent time doing housework to understand why exercise is difficult for his members. He's cheering his members on to exercise more than ever when they are interrupted by someone — it's Mi-ran! Everyone welcomes her and she and Hyeon-joong share a warm reunion. Pump Up the Healthy Love Episode 12 ends with a photo shoot with all the gym members and a voiceover from Hyeon-joong about taking care of our bodies. The Episode Review Like most of the show, Pump Up the Healthy Love Episode 12 is sweet and wholesome. The finale throws obstacles in the path of our characters but also sees them overcome and persevere. The final episode nicely traces Mi-ran's journey from someone who constantly prioritised her partners to someone who puts herself first. The reveal about Joon-seok feels like mixed messaging again but the show has never truly committed to a strong theme/message; it's more about its individual characters. Hyeon-joong's struggles with the gym are poignant as well and it's also amusing that he goes from a basement gym to a rooftop one. In the end, most loose ends are wrapped up, the gym kicks off again, and all of our characters are together and happy. There are a few questions left behind, though. Will Rosa and Alex keep working with Roy? Will Hyeon-joong find new trainers? Also, what about his bodybuilding? Does he not want to return to it? Of course, it would have been nice to learn more about Mi-ran's time in Hawaii and also how she and Hyeon-joong dealt with long distance. The drama around Hyeon-joong's disappearance adds some unnecessary suspense and is a bit unrealistic that he stayed out of touch with everyone. Nevertheless, the reveal that he's been studying his members' lives is a wholesome one. As expected, Mi-ran and Hyeon-joong's romance is all sorts of adorable and all the exercise references actually give it a pretty unique flavour. It's criminal that we only got this for one episode! Still, all in all, this one was a lovely, heartfelt finale. Previous Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!


Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Signs our dead loved ones are trying to contact us: SUZANNE GIESEMANN was a Navy commander when her daughter died. What happened next gave her cast-iron evidence of life beyond the grave - and can change your life too
The unusual fluttery feeling throughout my body was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. My head felt swirly, and I had to fight to keep from tilting to the right. But I was too fascinated to be frightened as Mavis Pittilla, the grande dame of British mediums, told me that she could see two spirits, a man and a woman, standing beside me.