As I recently reviewed The Mongolian Pop Knot I thought it probably worthwhile covering Popschticle also by Pop Haydn that does feature in that routine.
Popschticle is a comedy prop rather than a effect or routine, so not exactly the normal type of thing I review here. But as there seems little about it out there, I thought a mix of a review and some performance thoughts on it may be appropriate anyway.
What is it?
It’s just a prop ice-lolly with a bite taken out of it. But the thing that makes Popschticle great, isn’t what it is, it’s how it’s used. It’s the perfect thing for a ‘time killer’ when performing, or just a WTF moment when out and about.
The gag is you take an unwrapped ice-lolly out of your pocket, take a bite, then absent-mindedly put it back, still unwrapped. It doesn’t sound like much, but when used correctly, it gets fantastic reactions.
History
The kernel of the idea came from Roy Benson’s Banana Gag where a banana is opened, partially eaten, then zipped closed, with actual zips, and put back in his pocket.
Apparently Doc Eason and Haydn were at a movie prop shop to get some oranges for performing Cups and Balls. Pop noticed a silicone Dove ice cream bar on one of the shelves with a sculpted bite taken out of it. He picked one up and mimed taking a bite. It was a very hot day, and Doc demanded to know where he had got the ice cream from so he could get one too. And that was the origin of the Popschticle idea.
What you get
You get a prop that really looks, and oddly enough smells, just like the real thing, a spare wooden stick, and the access code for the tutorial. You can choose from Orange or Chocolate. The orange one is perfect, but the chocolate, which is what I got, would be better, in my view, if it was shaped the same as the Dove ice cream bar model Pop uses in his act. That’s not to say the chocolate looks bad, it still does seem to be what it is pretending to be, I just think the Dove shape would work better than the design with the two grooves down each side.
The prop itself is well made and seems to be very robust. I think most people would be fine having it in their pocket, but knowing how clumsy some people are, there may be a few people who should use extra care. It does come with a spare stick if anything does happen, that’s the only part likely to fail, but I’ve not had any issues myself.
The Training
There are two videos, totalling about an hour and a half of stuff to watch about the product. But sadly, going from how most people perform Popschticle, it seems very few people bother to make use of the training. If you watch Haydn do the ‘bit’ in his Mongolian Pop Knot routine, it’s very easy to think, yea, I get the prop and know how to do it, but there is much more subtlety to it than many realise. Just like with a Fire Wallet, it’s the “Hang on, did I just see that?” internal dialogue that makes it work.
As soon as you start signposting that something odd is happening, or repeated to try and make it a running gag, the effect is considerably weakened. The problem is, many people have the mindset: “I am a performer, everybody should see me perform” and most of the time, it’s totally fine to think that way, but for things like Popschticle and Fire Wallets, just some people fully catching it and then trying to convince others, and often themselves, what they saw is what gives these type of props so much power.
The key to this working is simple, but very easy to get wrong. It must feel completely accidental. The moment you draw attention to it, repeat it, or try to turn it into a running gag, it stops being a strange moment and becomes an overplayed “bit”, and the impact drops off immediately. The strength comes from a small number of people noticing it and questioning what they saw, not from everyone seeing it clearly.
Magic Branding
I’m normally firmly against magic items bearing the logos or branding of who released them, especially items that purport to be real-world items. So you may think I am against the Deuce Gala Magic logo being burned in on the stick, but this is actually a rare case of something I very much approve of. First the design of the logo works equally well for an ice cream company as it does for a magic producer, so it doesn’t look out of place. Second, it’s actually covered by your hand, so nobody ever really sees it anyway. And thirdly, and this is a big one, it’s only on one side, so you immediately know which way round the prop is by touch alone before you take it out of your pocket. It’s fine to think I’ll always put it in my pocket the same way around, but this is a great tactile safety-net to make sure. This surprisingly isn’t mentioned in either of the videos that comes with the prop, but it’s a really strong feature.
Final Thoughts
It’s a silly gag, but it’s a great silly gag, and if it fits your style it’s well worth picking up. I originally got it to fill ‘dead air’ in a routine I was working on much like the way Pop uses it in his Mongolian Pop Knot routine, but since then I have added it to my EDC and love to confuse people with it when I’m just out and about, queuing for the till in a shop, at the bar waiting for a beer to be pulled, or at the bus stop. It really is great fun, I highly recommend it for wherever you get the chance to use it.
If you do get one yourself, remember, it’s not just a “gag prop” but instead think of it as a perception management tool to mess with people’s heads in a very fun way.