The Classic Laugh Bag (1968) Laugh Sack

Updated: Aug 23

We often get emails from people seeking the original Laugh Bag Novelty Item, which we do not sell here at Californiamagic.net. even though this classic item is still available for purchase on the internet.. Today's versions however are usually are smaller, and use

digital audio technology.

The original toy was originally sold under several different names such as Laugh Bag, Laughing Bag, Bag of Laughs, and Bag of Joys.

Unfortunately, the Laugh Bag quality is nowhere near the product it once used to be and most everyone who remembers the original version, usually ends up being very disappointed in the product when they receive it. If you go to Amazon and type in "Laugh Bag" you can read the comments for yourself, no matter who is selling them, the disappointment is always the same. For anyone who has never experienced the original laugh bag and purchased it on Amazon, they are probably among the people who account for the mere 32% of customers who gave the product a 5-star rating.

Laugh Bag Inventor Walter Thiele

The original name for this product was "Laugh Sack" named by the German inventor Walter Thiele in 1968. It was the most successful of about 1,600 items he invented.

Original Laugh Sack

Thiele developed the concept by staging a laughing contest and using a recording of the winner's laughter in the redesigned Laugh sack in which a sock was replaced by a small sack.

The winner, a tax inspector from Nuremberg, was offered a prize of either 1,000 Marks or a 10 Pfennig royalty per Laugh sack sold. He played safe and chose the lump sum.

An estimated 120 million had been sold by 2007 (39 years later) and the Laugh sack is still in production.

Sadly.. today's Laugh sacks only give the first two seconds of the original laugh... which simply repeats three times.. for a total of six seconds. The original recording was 20 seconds.

Not only do you not get to hear the original Laugh Contest laugh in it's entirety, but you only get six seconds of laughter instead of the original 20 second track. We agree, it is disappointing..

With today's technology, you think it would be possible to record a digital laugh for 20 seconds. Here at Californiamagic.net we wont sell items that will disappoint you, sorry we just don't just want to sell you crap in a box. (unless that is what you ordered) Lol

The original Laugh bags had a little record player inside with a little record, and had an adjustment to speed up or slow down the recording, a far cry from today's digital models.

Californiamagic has made the decision to finally remedy this situation and reintroduce the Laugh Sack with the original Laugh Recording in its entirety, the way the original inventor would have wanted it. Because... The world needs Laughter now more than ever.