It seems like for the past one hundred million billion years or so, everyone and his mother has been talking about the H1N1 / Swine Flu virus, but nobody I know actually has it. Now you can own your very own Swine Flu Microbe Plush Toy! The H1N1 plushie was created by Drew Oliver, who famously said “I want to do for microbes what Walt Disney did for rodents.” Humorous, educational, and fun, this cuddly little microbe is available from Walmart (of all places) at This Link.
My friend, and former editor at the late, great Pandemonium Online, Dave Liljengren turned me on to this Pink Lionel Train found on the (no longer active) Monkey Goggles Blog. Click Here to read an interesting story about how this train has earned the dubious honor of being “The Least Successful Toy In The World.” Thanks, Dave!
Oh Boy!
Oh man, these are really cool! Dark Horse has introduced an upcoming line of large-size vinyl figures based on the characters from Tim Burton’s book of short fiction, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories. This new 6” line brings forward the special nuance of each individual creation and fits very nicely into the ever-growing popularity of “designer vinyl” collectible toys. Three releases are planned for the end of 2009: Oyster Boy, Stain Boy and Toxic Boy. Pricing or run size is not yet available. My friend Vinny owns this book and I’ve read a few of these stories, which are just crazy, so these toys should attract a lot of Tim Burton fans and memorabilia collectors!
Thanks to Plastic and Plush for the tip!
The Barbie Doll celebrates its 50th Birthday today, March 9th, 2009! Barbie Trivia: during her first year in stores, about 300,000 Barbies were sold at $3 a pop. The average price it would cost you to get one of those original dolls in good condition today: $27,450. Happy Birthday, Barbie! We all wish we had your glamorous life, amazing wardrobe, huge rack, mile-long legs and teeny tiny waist!
Just a Few of the Gazillion Incarnations of Barbie since 1959!