Pop Goes the Weasel is a traditional nursery rhyme and dance tune dating back to the nineteenth century, long associated in Britain and America with music boxes, street organs and jack-in-the-box toys. Its simple melody and surprise pop made it easy to remember and easy to parody, so it moved from playgrounds and toy shops into cartoons, comedy sketches and online videos. Today creators reuse the short tune as shorthand for playful mischief, a hidden surprise or a joke that is about to spring, keeping a very old melody familiar to new audiences.