A jack-in-the-box is a children's toy that outwardly consists of a box with a crank. When the crank is turned, it plays a melody, often "Pop Goes the Weasel." At the end of the tune there is a "surprise": the lid pops open and a figure, usually a clown or jester, pops out of the box. Some jack-in-the-boxes open at random times when cranked, making the startle even more effective.

One theory traces the jack-in-the-box to the legend of Sir John Schorne, a 14th-century English prelate said to have trapped the devil in a boot. This connection is reflected in the French name for the toy, diable en boîte, meaning “devil in a box.”

The toy that would eventually be called a jack-in-the-box supposedly originated in the early 1500s when a German clockmaker named Claus created a wooden box that popped out a devil figure as a gift for a prince. Initially popular among nobles, the toy became widely available to all children in the early 18th century as toy mechanisms improved.

The term “jack-in-the-box” first appeared in literature in 1563 in John Foxe’s Actes and Monuments, where it was used as an insult describing a swindler who tricked tradesmen by selling them empty boxes.

An animated green and red Jack-in-the-Box used as the iconic signature open for the Paramount Noveltoons made its debut in 1943 and was used for about twelve years.

Staring in 1951, a Jack-in-the-Box appears as the mascot for the Jack in the Box fast food restaurant chain. Prior to 1980, the chain used Jack as its symbol, which sat atop the drive-thru menus in the 1960s and early 1970s. Jack's head was also atop the large signs at each location.

In ''The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwog'', Part-way through their adventures (and immediately after meeting the Golliwogg), Peggy and Sarah Jane Deutchland come across a box. Unsure of its contents, Peggy stands back as Sarah Jane attempts to open it. When she is successful, and Jack pops out, Sarah Jane is so frightened, she is knocked off her feet, causing Peggy to laugh.

In retaliation, Sarah unsuccessfully attempts to kill him, causing her to flee in terror and meet the Scissors Boy.

All published appearances of Jack-in-the-Box from before January 1, )-(95)}} are public domain in the US.

Some notable appearances are listed below:

* Queenhoo‐Hall, by Joseph Strutt (1808) – called a jack‐in‐the‐box even though the puppet depicts a lady
* “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” a.k.a. “The Constant Tin Soldier,” by Hans Christian Andersen (1838)
* “This World’s a Large Fair” (poem), by Edward Farmer (1846)
* Bruin, by Capt. Mayne Reid (1860)
* “The Fairy School” (30 Jan. 1863)
* The Land of Lost Toys, by Juliana Horatia Ewing (1869)
* “Visiting the Poor” (poem) (7 Jan. 1871)
* Hard Luck, by C. Shackelford (1872)
* Jack in the Box (ca. 1872) – Jack wears a different costume each time the box opens.
* “Jack in the Box” (7 Nov. 1874) – piece in The Saturday Evening Post about an ingenious thief
* “The Eternal Jack‐in‐the‐Box” (4 Dec. 1875) – poem in Punch
* “Belinda Blonde” (poem), by Laura E. Richards (Feb. 1878)
* “The Blue Dolly’s Wedding Party,” by Mercie Sunshine (1878)
* Phaeton Rogers, by Rossiter Johnson (serialized 1880–1881)
* “Poor Jack‐in‐the‐Box” (poem), by Joel Stacy (Feb. 1881)
* “My Valentine” (poem), by J. M. Anderson (Feb. 1883) – calls himself Jickey‐Jack
* “Jack‐in‐the‐Box” (poem), by Margaret Vandegrift (25 Sept. 1884)
* “Master Richie’s Easter‐Egg” (poem) (31 Mar. 1888)
* “Jack in the Box” (poem), by Father Tuck (ca. 1890?)
* “Jack‐in‐the‐Box” (short story), by T. R. Sullivan (Aug. 1892)
* The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwogg, by Bertha Upton (1895)
* “Jack in the Box” (poem), by James Whitcomb Riley (1895)
* “A Night in a Nursery,” by F. Carruthers Gould (1896) – includes an ugly “Bogie man Jack‐in‐the‐Box”
* “It’s Never Too Late to Mend,” by Joseph Ernest Peat (1899)
* The Christmas Angel, by Katharine Pyle (1900)
* Andy’s Adventures on Noah’s Ark, by Douglas Zabriskie Doty (1902)
* Top o’ the World, by Mark E. Swan (1908)
* The Christmas Angel, by Abbie Farwell Brown (1910)
* “Essence of Parliament” (23 Nov. 1910) – compares Sir John Rees, 1st Baronet, to the toy
* Dotty Dolly’s Tea Party, by Marguerite L. and Willard C. Wheeler (1914)
* Mamma’s Angel Child in Toyland, by Marie Christine Sadler (1915)
* “Jack‐in‐the‐Box,” by Margaret T. Applegarth (1920)
* At Greenacres, by Marion Ames Taggart (1921)
* The Queer Little Man, by Marion Ames Taggart (1921)
* The Bottle Imp, by Marion Ames Taggart (1921)
* Poppy’s Pluck, by Marion Ames Taggart (1921)
* Let’s Play with Fingers, by Florence Gillette Sumner (1938)

* Jack in the Box; or, Harlequin and the Princess of the Hidden Island (1829)
* Jack in the Box; or, Harlequin Little Tom Tucker and the Three Wise Men of Gotham (pantomime), by E. L. Blanchard (1873)
* “The Imperial Jack‐in‐the‐Box” (song) (30 Jan. 1892)
* Bibi, by Charles Barnard (1903)
* What Happened Around the Christmas Tree (play), by Alice Sumner Varney (1915)
* Betty Jane’s Christmas Dream (playlet), by Glenn H. Isenbarger and Susie E. Isenbarger (1921)
* First Aid to Santa (playlet), by Ethelyn Sexton (1921)
* Singing Jailbirds (play), by Upton Sinclair (1924)
* “Jack in the Box” (song), by Kathleen Malone (1926)
* Bonnie and Billy’s Christmas Dream (play), by Eleanor Dubuisson (1927)
* Choosing a Doll, by Alice Whitson Norton (1928)
* Christmas Time at Santa’s Headquarters, by Alice Whitson Norton (1928)
* Evelyn’s Christmas Lesson, by Rebecca Rice (1928)
* The Jack in the Box, by Hermann T. Decker (1928)
* The Seven Gifts (pantomime), by Stuart Walker (1928)
* The Toy Shop Mix‐up, by Alice Whitson Norton (1928)
* Toys’ Christmas Frolic (play), by Josephine M. Besio (1928)
* A Christmas Dream, by Mildred Abernethy Hayes (Dec. 1928)
* Brownie and the Lost Reindeer, by J. Rae Tooke (Dec. 1929)
* Santa‐the‐Third, by Marjorie Barrows (Dec. 1929)

* Buster Brown (newspaper strip, Herald version) (18 Mar. 1906)
* Jack-In-The-Box Comics (Charles Publishing) #1
* Jack-in-the-Box Comics (Charlton Comics) #11-16
* Ding Dong Comics #1-2
* New Funnies #71
* Li'l Tomboy #98
* Four Color #91, 128: In issue 91, a puppy is startled by a jack-in-the-box. In issue 128,Santa mistakenly puts an elf in a jack-in-the-box.
* Phantom Lady #21: In order to catch the murderous Jack-in-the-Box, Phantom Lady disguises herself as a the villain to smoke out the true villain, Mrs. Wilks, who has been killing off congressmen while grooming her brother to be the next U.S. President.

*Jack in the Box (1912)

* Koko in Toyland (1925)
* Midnight in a Toy Shop (1930)
* Noveltoons (1943–1957)
** No Mutton fer Nuttin’ (1943) – the first in the series
** Yankee Doodle Donkey (1944)
** Scrappily Married (1945)
** A Lamb in a Jam (1945)
** Cheese Burglar (1946)
** Spree for All (1946)
** The Stupidstitious Cat (1947)
** Much Ado About Mutton (1947)
** Naughty but Mice (1947)

* Jack in the Box Bunch commercials (1970s)

* The 4th Annual Macy's Christmas Parade (1927)

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20141002115423/http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0169179/ IMDB] (archived)
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack-in-the-box Wikipedia]
*[https://comicvine.gamespot.com/search/?i=&q=Jack-in-the-Box ComicVine]
*[https://www.comics.org/story_by_character/Jack-in-the-Box/sort/chrono/ GCD]

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