Developing The Inflatable Cat


I know the first comments on this post are going to be that we made the wrong choice, but let me explain why we did what we did. Our first impulse when we had the idea for Cat-In-A-Can was that it should just be a photorealistic cat printed on an inflatable body. A staff member volunteered her cat, Lily, who underwent an intense all-angles photo-shoot. From the side, you can even argue that it looks better than what we went with…

Inflatable Cats from the Side

From the front, the limitations of the shape and detailing of inflatable objects turns the realistic cat’s face into a seriously deformed and deeply disturbing, sad-eyed cat/pig demon that haunts our dreams.

Creepy Photorealistic Cat Face - Inflatable Cat

Some people even had problems identifying it as a cat. We went with the less interesting but less creepy cartoon cat, but I had to share what could have been.

Photorealistic Cat Face - Inflatable Cat

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Calculator Watch Infomercial

A commercial from the time when there was NOTHING more awesome than a calculator watch. The secret 21st function is AMAZING!

Click here for our calculator watch, which doesn’t have the same functions as the watch in the commercial, but is even CHEAPER!

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Holiday Cake 2009 – Onion Ring Mints

Holiday Cake - 2009 Onion Ring Mints

Our amazing company baker, Cori, outdid herself this year! While it looked exactly like a tin of our Onion Ring Mints, it, thankfully, did not taste like onions.

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He She Jem Doll, Do You Remember?

Jem Doll With Male Head

The He She dolls were an actual factory mistake. See, there was this cartoon show called Jem about an imaginary pop star and she wore crazy clothes. When they went to make the action figure they accidentally put a male head on the body. We can’t be positive, but the one in the picture above looks a lot like Sylvester Stallone. Could it be they mistook Sly for Jem?

One Jem fan told me that the head also looks like Jem’s boyfriend Rio.

We sold out of the original run of them quickly and asked the factory to repeat the mistake. As with most happy accidents, it didn’t work when they did it on purpose. They just sent us an effeminate male doll in vaguely female clothes.

For more pictures, check out our book.

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The 6 Greatest Stocking Stuffers They Won’t Expect (And definitely will never forget)

Sure, you could go the traditional route with your stocking stuffers this year (yawn), or you could spice things up by sprinkling a little bit of the bizarre into your Christmas celebration.

Here are the items we suggest will perk up your presents and save Santa from becoming a bore.

6. Bacon Lip Balm

This one is both practical and amazingly different. It has all the protection you need for those snowy winter days, but with the delicious flavor of bacon. Not only that, if you get caught in an avalanche, think about how easy it will be for the dogs to find you when your lips smell like crispy strips of bacony goodness.

5. Yodelling Pickle

This one is not for everyone. Some people immediately “get” the Yodelling Pickle and some question why anyone would ever make it, much less buy one. Still, dill plus yodel equals hours of confusing fun for the whole family.

4. Handerpants

No kid wants underpants for Christmas, but imagine how cool they’ll be wearing these underpants for their hands! Plus, it will prevent chaffing under those scratchy wooly mittens that grandma knit them.

3. Frosting Flavored Cupcake Floss

Promote dental health while providing your kids with the delicious flavor of vanilla icing. If you feel it’s too girly, there is also Bacon Floss for the more carnivorously inclined.

2. Squirrel Underpants

Teach your kids about the importance of modesty by getting them a pair of Squirrel Underpants and then setting them loose in the backyard to put them on a squirrel. (Ok, you shouldn’t put them on a squirrel, but it’s still an important lesson, right?)

And finally, our greatest suggestion!

1. Zombie Mints

These are mints for zombies, they taste like the brains zombies crave. Perfect for imagining a world where Santa was bitten by a zombie and is still making his rounds for all the little zombie boys and girls with his sack of brains and eight tiny zombie reindeer. After your kids stop crying, they’ll have to admit that his has been a Christmas they will never forget!

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Funny Or Not Funny – Mustaches!

Gibson and Nai discuss the level of humor in different types of false mustaches.

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Another Recently Discovered Bibo Appearance

Bibo Appeal

This is an ad from 1950. Not sure what exactly Bibo was selling, except himself.

Find more Bibo here.

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Archie McPhee’s Bacon Boutique

Gummy Bacon Taste-testers

We were on the Food Network last night! It was an episode of Unwrapped that focussed on, what else, Bacon! We got an interesting peek into their production process.

They filmed at our store over a year before the segment was shown on TV. If you look at the picture of the two adorable customers above, you’ll notice Bacon Pennants behind them which have been discontinued. Not only that, but the whole store moved from Ballard to Wallingford! You know, unimportant details like that.

They filmed for four hours to get the three minutes they ended up using. Shana’s greatest fear was realized. They used footage of her flossing with Bacon Floss in the finished story. I had never thought about it, but I guess it is unglamorous to floss on TV.

As soon as they post the show, we’ll link to it. In the meantime, if you are a new customer just click here to make all your bacon dreams come true!

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Video of Bibo!

We never even dared to dream that this video existed! Thanks to a comment on a previous post and some Chinese language Google searches, we have actual footage of Bibo in action on the show Flame Bathing Phoenix.

Bibo happy. Bibo sad. Bibo’s bodily functions. It’s all there.

We thought more explanation of Bibo might make us find him less intriguing, instead it just increases the mystery.

We love you Bibo, now and forever.

You read more about our history with Bibo in our book.

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Funny or Not Funny 4 – What Does Nai Think of Handerpants?

In this episode, Nai tackles the humor quotient of the Bacon Belt, Zombie Mints, Inflatable Turkey, Squeeze Bibo, Bigfoot Statue and Handerpants. My fingers are crossed that he finds at least one of them funny.

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