Hello, fellow Oddballer!
This week, it’s all about toys. Do you still play with toys? Of course you do! They’re just more expensive - cars, iWatches, etc.
As always, links are in bold and underlined. Have fun with those. So, without further ado, here are five oddballs for your eyeballs!
Down Syndrome Goes Glam With Barbie
People with Down Sydrome are different, no doubt about that. My son Bash has Down Syndrome and while he’s like other kids in many ways, he’ll always be different - an oddball, but in a beautiful way. So when Jessica told me that Barbie had released a new Down Syndrome doll, I thought it was fantastic!
Granted, Bash doesn’t play with Barbies - if he did, he’d probably tear them to bits. Yet, there are many other kids who play with these dolls. I don’t specify girl or boy, not because I’m woke, but because I used to play with them with my sister Tammy when I was a kid. I played the “kids” (i.e., my G.I. Joe action figures).
Are Smurfs Evil?
I saw a short this short on Facebook about how Smurfs are evil. I had never heard this before. Then I went on YouTube to do some digging. I found a video that stated that the Smurfs represented the seven deadly sins and another that said that a Smurf toy came to life. Yikes!
I don’t recommend going down this rabbit hole - too much opinion and speculation. Still, is there any truth to these claims? Sure, Smurfs are odd, but are they an evil sort of odd? Who knows?
Shrunken Heads Reduce Stress?
Well, they’re not actual shrunken heads, but they sure do look like them. These squishy heads are meant to squeeze and fidget with in order to calm you down. I don’t know about you, but they seem creepy to me.
I’m not a fan of shrunken heads and I’m pretty sure that holding anything that resembles one would cause me more stress, not less. How about you?
That Doll Just Won’t Die!
One of the middle school kids I help teach likes Chucky. I looked it up and realized that I saw “Child’s Play” when I was about his age - it came at in 1988. Out of curiosity, I looked it up. According to Wikipedia, “The film was followed by several sequels including Child's Play 2 (1990), Child's Play 3 (1991), Bride of Chucky (1998), Seed of Chucky (2004), Curse of Chucky (2013), Cult of Chucky (2017), and a television series titled Chucky (2021).” Wow! That’s a lot of stuff based on a possessed doll!
The fact that this franchise keeps going is somewhat meta in that the story is based upon a criminal who refuses to die. And Chucky doesn’t look like he’s dying anytime soon. Who’d’ve thunk?
How to Play With a Toy Without Playing With It
Last, but certainly not least, is this strange phenomenon. There are YouTube videos of the video game “Just Dance,” and they rack up MILLIONS OF VIEWS! There’s no interactivity - as with the video game - it’s just watching, yet it’s wildly popular. The screenshot below is from “Timber” with over 29 million views!
I don’t get why someone would simply watch these videos instead of actually playing them. Perhaps it’s practice. Maybe it’s because the game consoles and the games are so expensive. Who knows? In any case, it’s odd.
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Until next time, stay oddly beautiful!
Jason