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Kinder Surprise, also known as a Kinder Egg or, in the original Italian, Kinder Sorpresa,
is a confection manufactured by Italian company Ferrero. Originally intended for children,
it has the form of a chocolate egg containing a small toy, often requiring assembly. "Kinder"
is the German word for "children". Each Kinder Surprise egg consists of a chocolate
shell, a plastic capsule, the contents of said capsule, and an external foil wrap.
The chocolate shell is shaped like a chicken's egg, and is of similar size. It is only about
a millimeter thick, and consists of two layers: a milk chocolate layer on the outside, and
a white chocolate layer on the inside. The shell is not a singular piece of material,
but rather two identical halves split down a vertical line. These are lightly fused together
just before the egg is wrapped, to prevent the halves from splitting apart under the
light pressures expected during transportation.
During the egg's production, before the halves are fused together, the plastic capsule containing
the toy is placed inside. This capsule is made from thin, flexible plastic, and is often
yolk-yellow (though in the past it was also manufactured in a variety of colors). The
capsule is made of two non-symmetrical, overlapping pieces: its bottom piece is almost as long
as the entire capsule, and has two ridges protruding along its outer rim; the top piece
is about half as long as the entire capsule, and has two corresponding ridges along its
inner rim. When the pieces are pushed together, the ridges interlock and do not come apart
without manual manipulation. To separate the two pieces, it is often necessary to apply
pressure to the interlocking region at its opposite ends, bending it and causing the
ridges to separate inside so that the halves can be pulled apart. Once the capsule is opened
it can be re-closed effortlessly by pushing the two pieces back together.
The plastic capsule contains the toy itself (either in a single piece or in several pieces
requiring assembly) and at least two pieces of paper. One paper lists the "choking hazard"
warnings in multiple languages. The other paper shows assembly instructions for the
toy and a picture of the assembled toy (if applicable), and/or an illustration of all
toys belonging to the same line as the one contained within this particular capsule.
Furthermore, many capsules include a small page of adhesive decals that may be placed
on the assembled toy after construction.
Once the egg is assembled in the factory, it is wrapped in a thin metal foil bearing
the Kinder Surprise brand name and various production details. The eggs may then be sold
in any of a number of forms, often either individually or as a boxed set of 3 eggs.
Some retailers will sell a tray of eggs containing 24 eggs in total.
Assembly of the toys requires no additional tools, as the pieces will simply lock ("snap")
together. Assembly rarely takes more than a few simple steps. Most toys can be disassembled
and reassembled freely, while a few cannot be disassembled without causing permanent
damage. Over the years, Ferrero have also created a variety of no-assembly toys, whether
more complex toys that can be used immediately or simple character statuettes made of a single,
pre-painted piece of hard plastic.
During the 2000s, Ferrero redesigned the Kinder Egg's internal plastic capsule. The new design
is visually and functionally similar to that of the original capsule, but it now consists
only of a single piece of plastic with a hinge on one side. The size and specific design
of each half of the capsule have also been slightly altered accordingly. The new capsule
design is always made from yolk-yellow plastic. Kinder Surprise originated in 1973 in Italy
as Kinder Sorpresa. The concept of introducing a toy in a chocolate seems to have originated
in Argentina in 1962, with the introduction in the market of "Jack" chocolate by the FelFort
company.[citation needed]
The toys are designed by both inside designers and external freelancers (for example the
French artist André Roche based in Munich) and manufactured by many companies worldwide,
such as Produzioni Editoriali Aprile, a small company based in Turin, Italy, run and founded
by two brothers, Ruggero and Valerio Aprile.
Kinder Eggs are sold all over the world, except the United States, where they are banned as
a result of concerns that the toy may present a choking hazard.
In Europe they have become a minor cult phenomenon among adults. There is even a thriving collector's
market for the toys. There are many types of toys available, but some of the most popular
with collectors include the ever-changing series of small hand-painted figures (some
have to be assembled); cartoon characters; metal figures; and jigsaw puzzles. Seasonal
eggs are introduced around the holidays, such as the limited-edition creche collections
(featuring such characters as the three kings, baby Jesus, and assorted barnyard animals)
found around Christmas, and the huge ones found at Easter (extremely popular in Italy).
A relatively new innovation, triggered by the advent of the Internet, is the introduction
of "Internet surprises". Accompanying the toy is a small slip of paper containing a
"Magicode". This code gives access to games at the Magic Kinder website, some for downloading,
some for playing online. Enjoy whit Kinder Surprise