Mini monster balls: Madballs knockoffs & more

A gruesome gang of rubber mini monster balls

A couple of lookers

Strangely Eastery pastel monster ball pencil toppers

Neon hard rubber monster balls

These look to be 'Bad Bad Balls.' Got 'em from a vending machine in the '90s

Crappy, eraser-like monster balls from a vending machine in the late-'80s

Awkward (monster ball) family photo

Hollow, hard plastic monster balls just hangin' out bein' gross

Mad-bowl

What: After the Madballs craze hit in the '80s, a bunch of random bootlegs and knockoffs began showing up in a variety of different sizes and materials, including superball-sized rubber monster balls, eraser-like pencil topper versions, keychains, slightly larger hard plastic types, and many more. Being the lover of monsters and weirdness in general that I've always been, I scooped any and all of these up whenever I had the chance as a kid (well, I still do...). I'm not an expert on what most of these are actually called (I'm assuming many, if not all, are simply nameless knockoffs), but for the ultimate source of monster ball information and Madball madness be sure to check out the awesome site blarghhhspot.

When: 1980s-1990s

Where: Different varieties of these guys were offered at many different places, including toy vending machines, toy/department stores, and as carnival/arcade prizes.

Who: N/A