In a strange twist of the universe, Londoner Malcolm Bull got a big promotional bang for his Original Stick Chair.

Last week’s episode of the hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory featured a collapsible walking stick/chair that the London inventor/entrepreneur came up with about five years ago.

Raj, one of the sitcom’s geeky characters, unfolds and sits on a Stick Chair while lining up for movie tickets.

That earns the scorn of fellow geek Leonard who comments:

“So, when the aliens brought you back, they just left the probe in?”

Undaunted Raj replies.

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but sticks on chairs are comfy.”

Bull is not a Big Bang fan and didn’t even know about the surprise plug until he was told by a Canada Post employee who helps him ship Stick Chairs ordered online through his website.

“When I saw the show, I thought, ‘Wow! — I have a lot of customers in the U.S. but I have no idea how they came across it,’ ” Bull said.

He’s confident it’s his product on the show because of its appearance and the unique way it unfolds.

Chuck Lorre Productions, producer of The Big Bang Theory, couldn’t be reached for comment.

Since the show aired, Bull said there hasn’t been a big bump in orders but he has received a number of emails from old and new customers impressed that the show demonstrated how the device works.

Bull, who emigrated from England in 1967, was a vice-president with the former O-Pee-Chee gum company, famous for its trading cards.

After O-Pee-Chee was sold to Nestle Canada, Bull started his own small candy company that he later sold.

In retirement he acquired some of his late father’s possessions including a British shooting stick, a walking cane used by bird hunters with a small platform to sit on.

“There’s no place to sit in a marsh and you can wait a long time for a duck to come by.”

He thought there was a North American market for the shooting sticks but they were heavy, wouldn’t fit into a suitcase and were expensive to import.

He came up with a lightweight, collapsible and adjustable version that he called The Original Stick Chair.

It’s is only 36 centimetres when folded up, but assembles with a shake of the wrist. It weighs less than a kilogram and sells for $49.99.

It rests on a rubber tip for hard surfaces and a spike and platform for soft surfaces.

Bull patented the device, found a manufacturer and started direct selling through www.thestickchair.com. He said he doesn’t mind the Big Bang characters scoffed at his Stick Chair. His target market is seniors, not young geeks, and his customers really appreciate his product.

“What really motivates me is the client reviews and their confidence,” he said.