flying plastic poop is something I need in my life

November 18, 2007 6:07 PM

The 25 Most Baffling Toys From Around the World
posted by Stynxno (65 comments total)

via #mefi
posted by Stynxno at 6:08 PM on November 18, 2007

These toys, they vib-

Oh, I can't even do it. What the hell is wrong with these people?

Although I do want the teddy-bear gun for my next meeting.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 6:13 PM on November 18, 2007

I've always thought that the Playmobil Hazmat figure set was a little strange.
posted by KokuRyu at 6:14 PM on November 18, 2007

LOLJAPAN
posted by empath at 6:17 PM on November 18, 2007

I totally have #23 decorating my office cubicle right now.

It was a gift from my wife.

[now beaming with pride]
posted by device55 at 6:18 PM on November 18, 2007

Last week's digg is this week's MiFi fpp
posted by mattoxic at 6:20 PM on November 18, 2007

Wow, does the Cock Block Super come with Blue Balls?
posted by MythMaker at 6:21 PM on November 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

We own the Playmobil hazmat, and it's awesome. The rest of these? Well, it's weird to see Cracked funnier than Mad, but still not as funny as Spy.
posted by klangklangston at 6:29 PM on November 18, 2007

ROLFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THE best ever.
posted by petersn1 at 6:29 PM on November 18, 2007

THE best ever. evar!

Fixed that for you.
posted by ZakDaddy at 6:35 PM on November 18, 2007

Where I can buy these things? It's christmas season for christ sakes!
posted by waxboy at 6:37 PM on November 18, 2007

That makes Christmas easier.
posted by cmyk at 6:37 PM on November 18, 2007

That's not a camel's head -- its a toy gerbil in the Richard Gere sized model.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 6:41 PM on November 18, 2007

Added #25, #20, #16, #11, #8 and especially #2 to my Amazon Wish List.

"...a gun that fires teddy bears. Although crime is rare in Japan, when it happens, it is absolutely hilarious." Here in the US, we have Constitutional Right to Bear Arms.
posted by wendell at 6:44 PM on November 18, 2007 [5 favorites]

I don't get #10. It looks like a little fake cellphone for little girls. Why is that unusual or odd?
posted by delmoi at 6:46 PM on November 18, 2007

mattoxic, sometimes, but not often, Digg beats us to the Best of the Web. Usually, getting Digged is a strike against it, so I think taking a five-day waiting period before bringing it to the Blue is a prudent act.
posted by wendell at 6:47 PM on November 18, 2007

(Oh, 'benign girl' is like funny engrish, Okay)
posted by delmoi at 6:47 PM on November 18, 2007

#14 is just a huge funny hamster. Put it in an oversize cowboy hat and you've got a guaranteed laugh-getter.
posted by DU at 6:55 PM on November 18, 2007

And who the hell reads shit like Digg anyway?

I hang on Metafilter so I don't have to visit Digg, mattoxic.
posted by Jimbob at 6:56 PM on November 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

OMG #14
WANT SO BAD
SO SO SO BAD
I would hug it and squeeze it and love it and dress it up and hide in bushes and throw it at passerby and put it in a seat next to me in lecture and sew on a strap so i could wear it on my head and then go to parties and confuse less-than-sober people and we would be friends forever
posted by mayfly wake at 7:03 PM on November 18, 2007

mayfly, as I read your comment your lips weren't moving in synch.
posted by hal9k at 7:17 PM on November 18, 2007

What, no Oozinator?
posted by dhammond at 7:19 PM on November 18, 2007

And who the hell reads shit like Digg anyway?

Millions of people. Including sometimes me.

Is Digg shit? it contains heaps of links, some may be shit, some not.

OK I was snarky, as soon as there is a list of anything/best/worst/weird/expensive/amazing... it gets circulated around our office for days.
posted by mattoxic at 7:19 PM on November 18, 2007

Gosh-dang dubbing...read it again with the subtitles on instead.
posted by mayfly wake at 7:22 PM on November 18, 2007

#14 looks like a wombat to me.
posted by dobbs at 7:22 PM on November 18, 2007

previous comment was to hal9k.
posted by mayfly wake at 7:22 PM on November 18, 2007

#14 is a capybara. They are popular as exotic pets in Japanland these days, although I prefer stag beetles.
posted by KokuRyu at 7:24 PM on November 18, 2007

Why did they not have stuff like the Playmobil Hazmat team when I was a kid??? I probably would've become an EMT and done all this Hazmat/CBRNE/WMD training much earlier if did!
posted by blaneyphoto at 7:30 PM on November 18, 2007

#22 is "Strike Witches" (NSFW panchira warning), and the figurines are deceptive. The cyborg leg attachments are not permanent. They're mounted when the girls go into action, and dismounted the rest of the time.

There was a brief anime (Youtube) made which was included on a DVD with some of the statuettes, and a lot of us otaku really, really wish they'd turn it into a series.

It's an example of what's known as "Mecha musume", and that concept is decidedly weird. It's sort of a cyborg fetish. But the Strike Witches anime, though abbreviated, was a lot of fun. The potential is there for it to be a really good story.

As to the many of those which seem to be about excrement, a Korean studio made a half hour animation called "Doggy Poo", and yes, the protagonist is just what it sounds like. (I don't own it and I don't intend to buy it, but I've been told that it's better than it sounds.)
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 7:32 PM on November 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

The capybara or what ever it is reminded me of the severed horse head pillow.
posted by Iron Rat at 7:49 PM on November 18, 2007

Hamster? Capybara? I thought it was a brown earless chinchilla. Whatever it is, it's cuter than a Domo-kun.

I need to get the hazmat playmobil figures to decorate my lab bench!
posted by porpoise at 7:50 PM on November 18, 2007

#9 is bad news, encouraging children to think furries are OK. wadda woyeld.
posted by carsonb at 7:58 PM on November 18, 2007

#3 made the news because the toy was in the wrong place in the store, not because it's marketed to kids, jeez.
posted by mkb at 8:06 PM on November 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

I have the poop cell phone charm, though it's hanging on my keychain.

Mine is gold :)
posted by utsutsu at 8:08 PM on November 18, 2007

I've been giggling like an idiot for the past ten minutes and now my wife is starting to look at me really weird.
posted by Devils Slide at 8:08 PM on November 18, 2007

I must have the Beatles mice.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:10 PM on November 18, 2007

A stuffed camel head isn't nearly as cool as a stuffed camel toe.
posted by sourwookie at 8:11 PM on November 18, 2007 [2 favorites]

"#22 is "Strike Witches" (NSFW panchira warning), and the figurines are deceptive. The cyborg leg attachments are not permanent. They're mounted when the girls go into action, and dismounted the rest of the time.

There was a brief anime (Youtube) made which was included on a DVD with some of the statuettes, and a lot of us otaku really, really wish they'd turn it into a series.

It's an example of what's known as "Mecha musume", and that concept is decidedly weird. It's sort of a cyborg fetish. But the Strike Witches anime, though abbreviated, was a lot of fun. The potential is there for it to be a really good story.

As to the many of those which seem to be about excrement, a Korean studio made a half hour animation called "Doggy Poo", and yes, the protagonist is just what it sounds like. (I don't own it and I don't intend to buy it, but I've been told that it's better than it sounds.)"

Steven, you need a new hobby.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:12 PM on November 18, 2007

I've been here too long - I didn't think most of these were very weird at all.
posted by gomichild at 8:17 PM on November 18, 2007 [2 favorites]

Crash Davis, everyone's hobby seems strange to those who are not in it.

Anyway, at least I'm not a furry.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 8:37 PM on November 18, 2007

The thing about both Digg and MeFi that drives me crazy is that about a year ago, stuff started showing up on CNN and in my mom's e-mail before I could have a laugh with her about the funny stuff I saw online today.

My mom's e-mail.
posted by dhartung at 8:45 PM on November 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

HAD to go online to learn more about the stripper pole. While it doesn't seem to be marketed towards children, it is being pitched as an healthy exercise workout option, retailing for about $120.

According to the website, it includes:
- 3 piece chrome pole (that holds up to 145 lbs)
- Instructional guide with dance moves
- An instructional DVD with additional moves
- Peekaboo Sexy Garter
- $100 in play money that you or your partner can earn.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, they did say 'earn'. Only up to $100. Their own little way of saying: If you didn't feel cheap before, feel free to start now.
posted by anitanita at 8:51 PM on November 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

I want to wake up Christmas morning to find a stuffed camel head in my bed!
posted by agent at 8:56 PM on November 18, 2007

This makes weird US toys seem .... benign.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 9:13 PM on November 18, 2007

I want to wake up Christmas morning to find a stuffed camel head in my bed! --agent

I prefer this one.
posted by Bugg at 9:37 PM on November 18, 2007

The capybara or what ever it is reminded me of the severed horse head pillow. --Iron Rat

Hmmm, this preview button, how does it work?
posted by Bugg at 9:41 PM on November 18, 2007

I would hug it and squeeze it and love it and dress it up and hide in bushes and throw it at passerby and put it in a seat next to me in lecture and sew on a strap so i could wear it on my head and then go to parties and confuse less-than-sober people and we would be friends forever

And call it George.
posted by bwg at 10:02 PM on November 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

I'm glad for this thread, if only because without it I may never have stumbled on this.
posted by obvious at 10:29 PM on November 18, 2007

I'm trying to think what it is that we do that would be an analog for the Japanese fascination with excrement. The only thing that comes close is our fascination with pop tarts and celebutantes.

I'm not sure which is weirder.
posted by fenriq at 11:13 PM on November 18, 2007

I cheered when Matt took the img tag away, but man oh man do I want it back now just so that I could post the poop hat picture into EVERYTHREADEVAR!!!

Steven C. Den Beste: anyway, at least I'm not a furry

Ah yes, the furries, where would otherwise shameful hobbies be if not for furries to look down on :)
posted by Kattullus at 11:22 PM on November 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

I don't get what's weird about #20. It's play food?

#14 is a bit odd, but nothing compared to the three-foot-long plushie liver fluke I saw in Uwajimaya a few years back. (Maybe not actually supposed to be a liver fluke, but not sure what else it might have been.)
posted by hattifattener at 11:42 PM on November 18, 2007

I must have the Beatles mice.

They're bears.

Those figures are called Be@rbrick (by a Japanese toy line called Kubrick, which makes all sorts of wonderful figures, mostly based on pop culture). Just search "Be@rbrick Beatles" and you can find shops.
posted by cmgonzalez at 11:46 PM on November 18, 2007

More info on Be@rbricks.
posted by cmgonzalez at 12:51 AM on November 19, 2007

All I know is my daughter would love that take apart plastic fish.
posted by adamt at 2:07 AM on November 19, 2007

The Hazmat team is cool, but no Playmobil set is complete without scavengers.
posted by Ella Fynoe at 4:36 AM on November 19, 2007

They don't just make netsuke in the traditional forms.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 4:45 AM on November 19, 2007

FAIL
posted by triv at 6:01 AM on November 19, 2007

It was only a matter of guessing how many would be from Japan.

#21 is actually pretty cool. Almost picked up a couple at Yodobashi camera. But, and I've mentioned these before, I was too taken by these to want anything else. (not "baffling", though)

#16 -- plush virus?! Those crazy Japanese! (or not)

#5 is not baby Sauron, but Medama Oyaji from Ge Ge Ge No Kitaro. I have keychains and myriad other stuff of him. Cool little character. Reminds me of The Residents.

Love Benign Girl and Cock Bloc Super, though. Haven't seen either, but that is pretty typical. (incidentally, since it was mentioned, Domo Kun has zero cult following in Japan. He is, after all, just a corporate mascot. I think the cartoons are cute, though)
posted by dreamsign at 7:10 AM on November 19, 2007

I am billing Metafilter for a new monitor. The poop hat made me spray coffee on mine.
posted by lordrunningclam at 7:11 AM on November 19, 2007

gomichild writes "I've been here too long - I didn't think most of these were very weird at all."

Me too.

Especially:

#20: A plastic fish in a series of plastic food toys for kids playing house. What's weird about that?
#16: Ok, the virus picture is weird, but the toy itself? It's a ball which can be used by toddlers (by holding the ball itself), and infants (by holding one of the little loops). Again, not seeing the weird in the toy.
#5: Gegege no Kitaro toys. The least weird of the whole bunch. What makes them weird? I can't even guess.
#4: Ok, if you don't know what this is, and just have to imagine, it might seem weird. If you know what it is, it certainly isn't: it's a balloon pump. Things are a frickin' life saver if you need to blow up a whole lot of balloons (for example, for a wedding party) without spending the massive amounts that renting a pressurized air/helium tank would cost.

Some of the others, though, are nice'n'weird.
posted by Bugbread at 8:19 AM on November 19, 2007

Oh, man, my mother the Beatles fanatic is totally getting the Be@rbrick figures for Christmas. Those are awesome. Thanks, cmgonzalez, for the extra info.
posted by marginaliana at 12:07 PM on November 19, 2007

People still read digg? Right now the top story is:

I Kicked Burning Terrorist So Hard in Balls I Tore a Tendon (PIC)

The rest are "FUNNY PIC L@@K" and iphone and Ron Paul astroturfing. I think its safe to say the AOL chat crowd have completely and uttery taken over and destroyed that site.

The comments are a mild step up from youtube too. I hope Mr. Rose has already cashed out.
posted by damn dirty ape at 12:46 PM on November 19, 2007

I have seen the Doggy Poo cartoon. It deals with the emotional insecurities and existential crises of a sapient turd (hey, like you'd be doin' so good in that situation?) and their subsequent resolution as said turd learns wisdom and embraces the beauty of transience—and it really isn't as random as it sounds.

Pretty close, though.
posted by eritain at 8:48 PM on November 19, 2007

Almost as random as these toys. Oh glory, stomach hurts from laughing.
posted by eritain at 9:08 PM on November 19, 2007

ok, #15 (the sled) is a mini-bob and its possibly the best thing to hit snow!

they have them in germany & its so ridiculously fun, especially with a group of people that you can collide with and bounce off snow banks or whatever. oh yeah, and the phallic handle thing does hurt when you crash a little too hard and don't bail your mini-bob. its the price you pay & i'd do it again in a second.
posted by hazel at 12:29 AM on November 20, 2007