What is a squishy?
A squishy is a soft toy made to be squeezed. Press it flat and it slowly puffs back to its original shape, which is oddly satisfying to watch and even better to feel. Most are shaped like food or animals, many are scented to match, and the best ones have a slow, gentle rebound that collectors call slow-rise.
People keep them on desks, clip them to backpacks, trade them, film them, and squeeze them when they need a moment to calm down. Squishies have become part fidget toy, part collectible, and part tiny piece of art.
A short history
Squishies grew out of Japan's kawaii culture, the same love of small, round, cute things that gave the world Hello Kitty and countless mascot characters. Early squishies were stationery and phone charms: tiny buns, cakes and fruit made from a specially formulated soft polyurethane foam that recovers its shape slowly after being squeezed.
- 1986 Jonathan Kelly founds Kellytoy in Los Angeles. Decades later a trip to Japan, and the plush he saw there, would inspire his best-known creation.
- Spring 2017 Foam squishies reach the United States and spread fast through YouTube unboxings, slow-motion "squish" videos and ASMR channels. Scented bread and fruit shapes lead the way.
- 2017 Kellytoy launches Squishmallows, a plush take on the idea: a spandex shell filled with polyester fiber, designed to be huggable rather than slow-rise. They start in four sizes and later grow to twelve, from 3.5-inch clip-ons to 24-inch giants.
- 2020 Jazwares acquires Kellytoy. Squishmallows pass 50 million sold as the pandemic pushes comfort toys and collecting onto TikTok, where the hashtag climbs past half a billion views. Jack the Black Cat sells out in two hours and becomes the line's rarest find.
- 2021 to 2023 Squishmallows win the Toy Association's Toy of the Year three years running.
- 2024 More than 400 million Squishmallows sold across roughly 3,000 designs in over 60 countries.
- 2025 A new wave: butter-shaped foam squishies and NeeDoh stress balls go viral on TikTok and bring slow-rise foam back into fashion.
The different kinds of squishies
"Squishy" covers a whole family of toys that squeeze differently. Here are the main types you'll run into, and what makes each one feel the way it does.
Slow-rise squishy
The classic. Soft polyurethane foam that takes a few seconds to puff back. Usually shaped like bread, cake, fruit or animals, and often scented. This is what most people mean when they say squishy.
Fast-rise squishy
Same idea, bouncier foam. Springs straight back the moment you let go. Good for fidgeting and hand exercise, and common as small keychains.
Mochi squishy
Small, smooth, semi-transparent silicone animals with a stretchy, jelly-like give. Named after the Japanese rice cake. Dust doesn't stick, and they rinse clean with water.
Jelly squishy
Clear gel or silicone, often with glitter, beads or tiny charms floating inside. Glossy, stretchy and fun to watch as much as to squeeze.
Water-bead squishy
A soft skin filled with water beads or gel. Wobbly, cool to the touch and a little like squeezing a water balloon.
Squish plush
Squishmallows and their cousins: a stretchy fabric shell stuffed with soft polyester fiber. Not slow-rise, but marshmallow-soft and made to be hugged and collected in "squads".
Stress ball
The grandparent of the squishy. Dense foam or a gel-filled ball built for a firm squeeze, the kind that has lived on office desks for decades.
How they're made
Slow-rise squishies start as liquid polyurethane poured into a mold. As it cures it foams up into millions of tiny open cells. When you squeeze, air is pushed out of those cells; when you let go, it seeps back in slowly, and that is the rise. The exact foam recipe controls how slow the rise is, which is why a good squishy feels so different from a cheap one.
After curing, the shapes are painted by hand or by machine, sealed, and often scented with food fragrances. Mochi and jelly squishies skip the foam entirely and are cast from soft silicone or gel. Plush squish toys are sewn from stretch fabric and stuffed.
Collector words worth knowing
- Slow-rise
- Foam that takes several seconds to return to shape. Slower is usually considered better.
- Rebound
- How the squishy springs back. Fast rebound feels bouncy, slow rebound feels dreamy.
- Kawaii
- Japanese for cute. The whole aesthetic squishies come from.
- ASMR
- Videos and sounds made to feel relaxing. Squishy squeezing is a big part of it.
- Squad
- A group of plush squish toys collected as a set.
- Rare and retired
- Designs made in small numbers or no longer produced. These are the ones collectors hunt.
- Licensed vs. original
- Licensed squishies are official characters from films and games. Originals are a brand's own designs.
Looking after your squishies
Keep them happy
Store foam squishies out of direct sun and away from heaters; heat and UV make the foam yellow and go stiff. Don't pull, twist or stretch foam hard, and never poke it with anything sharp, because a torn squishy will not rise properly again. Wipe foam with a barely damp cloth. Mochi and jelly squishies can be rinsed in cool water and left to air-dry.
Safety
Squishies are for older kids and up. Foam pieces and small charms are choking hazards, and a few countries, including Denmark and Norway, have pulled some squishies from shelves over chemical smells and small-part risks. Buy from brands you trust, air out anything with a strong chemical odor before using it, and keep them away from babies and pets.
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