A bobblehead is defined as “a figurine with a disproportionately large head mounted on a spring so that it bobs up and down, often made as a caricature of a famous person.” (https://rb.gy/asdrbk) January 7 is National Bobblehead Day and there’s a lot to know about the specific collectible.

In 1842, Nikolai Gogol referred to a bobblehead in his story The Overcoat, but the doll has developed over the year. According to https://www.bobbleheadhall.com/history, animal bobbleheads were popular in Germany at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The first American bobbleheads became famous in 1960. They were originally made of papier–mâché and ceramic. They were modeled after four sports players: Roberto Clemente, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Willie Mays. Since then, there have been over 300 bobblehead giveaway events at professional sports games, sometimes signed and guaranteed to become a favorite collectible.

While many people do collect these items, there are two men who used their collection to create a museum of bobbleheads that anyone can enjoy. According to http://tiny.cc/Bobbleheads, Phil Sklar and Brad Novak opened t National Bobblehead Hall of Fame & Museum in 2019, hoping to have the largest collection certified by the Guinness Book of World Records, with at over 6400. The current record of bobbleheads is held by a hardware engineer from Canada named Phil Darling. He has over 3,000 bobbleheads.

Bobbleheads are not only shared as giveaways at sports events. In stores, they can cost around $25, but collectible models that are rare might cost $500, $1,000, or even $10,000! With their popularity, they have gone past animals and sports figures. There is even a Dr. Fauci bobblehead that has been sold as a fundraiser for masks for frontline workers. (https://www.bobbleheadhall.com/)

Arnold Cuervo has his own collection of bobbleheads featuring characters from The Office. Cuervo started his collection in 2019 and decided to mainly focus on the famous show. “I just really love everything The Office-related, and I just thought the bobble heads were a really cool conversation piece for my office,” he said.

His most expensive bobblehead, that of the character Darryl, cost $240.

Cuervo has collected every character that has been produced so far, but is willing to buy more if more are produced. “Technically I already have all of The Office one’s ever made, so I guess I have stopped,” he said, “but if they make new ones they will have my money.”

If you want to check more of Arnold’s collection or just want to check out his stuff, check him out on Instagram @theofficefunkopops.