Some time ago in 2004 we had our presumably once-yearly family outing to Burger King. Got to get a toy a Burger King now, haven't you? My sister and I were disappointed however: not only did we receive the same toy, but it was a terrible one. Personally, I wouldn't even call it a toy. It's a lump of squashy plastic that, although supposedly looks like a character from a film, looks more like a poor inhabitant of Lovecraft's Innsmouth. It is also supposed to be a hand puppet, but the mouth is so immoveable that this is only a hand puppet in the same way that a loaf of bread sellotaped to a pig is a ham sandwich.
My sister and I were wholly bored with this toy, until we realised its face can be amusingly contorted by squashing it. Now it became a puppet with a humorous, moveable mouth! We laughed very much that day and have found it amusing ever since. I enjoy this story because it is an example of how humans are very good at making improvements to things that just aren't quite right - like a rubber duck being a pointless, yet somehow entirely pleasing addition to a bath.
I keep the puppet in a box in case of emergencies; an outbreak of upset is soon cleared up by this weird fish. She and I even had trouble taking the photographs for this entry, because we were choking a crying with laughter at it. It is much funnier in person because then it can be animated, but I include the pictures concealed below, view at your own risk.
I keep the puppet in a box in case of emergencies; an outbreak of upset is soon cleared up by this weird fish. She and I even had trouble taking the photographs for this entry, because we were choking a crying with laughter at it. It is much funnier in person because then it can be animated, but I include the pictures concealed below, view at your own risk.
(The lovely hand model in all photographs is, of course, myself.)