Mainly recognized as an adorable pet dog, the dachshund had become an iconic symbol of Germany in the form of a dachshund bobblehead. The first of its kind was made in the 1970s when the German car owners placed dachshund bobbleheads on their car’s dashboard. It looks adorable just like the dog breed. With many ups and downs, the dachshund bobblehead’s popularity once again grew in the 21st century with the introduction of National Bobblehead Day in the US and the National Dachshund Museum in Germany.
What is a bobblehead?
Also called by many silly names like wacky wobbler or a nodder, bobblehead is a collectible action figure. The toy has a large head that is connected to the rest of the body with a spring or a hook. When you tap a bobblehead, its head will move around or bobble.
A pair of bobbleheads sold for $36,000!
For an amount where you can buy yourself a car or complete a college education, a bobblehead was bought by a person. This expensive bobblehead was made in China in the early 18th century and resembles husband and wife pair. In an auction in 2010, this bobblehead pair was sold for $35,925.
Bobbleheads were first used in sports in the 1920s.
If you search baseball history, you will probably find a bobblehead made with a face that looked like one of the players. Although bobblehead athletes became more popular due to Major League Baseball, the first generic kind was made for basketball players. Collectors claim that they were sold in New York auctions but the others believe that the team was not established until 1946.
Pop-culture bobblehead
After sports, bobbleheads pioneered pop culture also with the Beatles using them in the 1960s. The original set of Beatle bobbleheads sold for $800, despite the fact that replicas had been made. This was the first of its kind when bobbleheads were made of human heads other than sports personalities and the Beatle maniacs at that time would buy anything that their favourite band introduced.
The biggest bobblehead is over 15 feet tall
One of the insurance companies named Applied Underwriters hired a prop shop to make a bobblehead as per their mascot Saint Bernard in 2016 April. The huge pooch had a leash attached to the neck so the head could nod when anyone pulled it. The bobblehead made its way to the Guinness Book of World Records. Before the Saint Bernard bobblehead, the tallest bobblehead was 11 feet tall.
Every year, the world celebrates National dachshund Bobblehead day
The iconic German figurine won many hearts in the 21st century to an extent that the US declared a National Dachshund Bobblehead day on 7th January 2015. The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame was also established to honour the adorable dog breed.
The Dachshund Museum in Germany
The first official dachshund bobblehead museum opened in Germany’s Passau in Bavaria in 2018, and it not only displays but also sells large-headed bobblehead dolls. They have more than 4,500 displays which dedicate to the wiener pooch. The museum took almost 25 years to build and is now open for a public visit since 2018.
Dachshund Bobblehead in Google Doodle
On September 30, 2020, Google released an interactive Doodle to commemorate its fondness for dachshund bobbleheads. According to Google, the first dachshund bobblehead was produced as an automobile decoration in Germany in 1970. A bobblehead with a joyful face sits on a car dashboard if you search dachshund bobblehead on Google Doodle’s official site.
The dachshund bobblehead is known as Wackeldackel in German
Due to an unusual fact, the dachshund bobblehead is also known as Wackledackel in Germany. In German, wackledackel refers to a person who nods his head in adoration of his boss. The dachshund bobblehead is also known as a Wackeldackel in Germany because it keeps shaking its head diligently whenever a car takes a twist or turn. Germans began utilizing automotive accessories in the 1970s in the form of a little toy shaped like a dachshund with a huge head attached to the body via a spring. Even the tiniest touch could cause the figure to move.
The first bobblehead were made in the 17th century
Although dachshund bobbleheads were first made in the 1970s, the dachshund bobblehead history can be dated back to the 17th century when it was made in China with Buddha and religious figurines called temple nodders. The 19th century saw bobbleheads made of porcelain in the European nations while the United States imported them from Germany. Bobblehead popularity surged after the mid-19th century when sports clubs used bobbleheads for their mascot and Germany used dachshund bobbleheads as a car accessory.
