History of the Shock Pen

Shock pens have made writers cautious of clicking since the 1940s.

The shock pen finds its place in business history both as a successful novelty product and as a mainstay of office pranks. For retailers, shock pens continue to thrive despite public concerns over the product's safety. For the office jokester, these gags serve as one of the easiest -- and perhaps most satisfying -- tricks to pull on coworkers. Though its history reaches back to World War II, much of the shock pen's story remains to be written.

Early History

The shock pen descends from a classic practical joke device: the joy buzzer. Danish immigrant Soren S. Adams -- inventor of such classic pranks as sneeze powder, the water-shooting lapel rose and the snake jar -- first introduced the joy buzzer in 1932. To this day, pranksters wear the wind-up device on their fingers to deliver a small electric shock when shaking someone's hand. In the 1940s, the competition at the Franco American Novelty Company introduced the shock book, which zapped anyone who opened it. In that same decade, the shock book evolved into other shocking items, including cards, a cigarette lighter and perhaps most famously, the shock pen.

In Business

Because novelty items tend to be easy to imitate, it's difficult for one company to manufacture gags like the shock pen exclusively, even when patents are filed. As such, the shock pen, like its joy buzzer successor, helped keep novelty companies like Franco American and others afloat throughout the Great Depression and World War II. Today's novelty companies, which can include retailers from Spencer's Gifts Inc. to mom-and-pop joke shops, still stock modern iterations of the shock pen.

The Modern Shock Pen

Like early versions, the modern shock pen looks just like a clickable ball-point pent. However, when clicked, a battery-operated electric circuit delivers a jolting shock of up to 756 volts. The shock pen made its mark on history once again in the early 2000s. In 2005, Greece banned the sale of shock pens due to the dangers of being shocked when wearing a pacemaker. In the U.S., a Ventura Unified School District teacher moved to ban the pens from California school districts when the gag item caused nerve damage to her hand.

Availability and Pricing

As of 2011, Chinese companies dominated the business of manufacturing shock pens. Combined, China and Hong Kong have nearly 900 shock pen manufacturers, including companies such as the Ruian Bysun Electronic Company, Hua Hao Toys, Yiwu Haoke Electronics and the Kangle Technology Company. Though prices vary, retailers in 2011 can purchase shock pens wholesale for about $21 per dozen and sell them for individual prices ranging from about $2 to $6.

References

• Time Passages Nostalgia Company; From Gags to Riches; Joel Sayre; 1999
• India Biz Club Company Profile: Franco American Novelty Co., Inc.
• Europa Consumer Affairs: Weekly Overview Report of RAPEX Notifications, Report 25, 2005
• Novelties Wholesale: Basic Shock Pens
• Alibaba: Shock Pen Manufacturers
• The Sacramento Bureau; Novelty Pen Users in for a Shock...; Harrison Sheppard; December 2006

Resources

• Franco American Novelty Company LLC
• The History of Practical Jokes; Col. E.Z. Smith