Fun
Knit to This: Amazing Live Sea Monkeys
Dear Ann,
I almost forgot about this one! It’s a story that I listened to a month ago, early in my self-isolation, which now seems ages ago.
Remember the ads for Amazing Live Sea Monkeys in comic books when you were a kid? Being a kid, it never occurred to me that Amazing Live Sea Monkeys—whether they were real or fake—were somebody’s business. They were, and apparently the sea monkey business was a good business.
New York Times reporter Jack Hitt wrote a story about the battle over the sea monkey fortune. It’s like a movie. It gave me the same sense of wonder as “The Shrink Next Door:” why are we like this? Humans are deeply weird.
Here’s the link to the podcast of the story.
Listening to Jack Hitt read his story in his basement is a half hour well spent, particularly if you are knitting. (You’re not in his basement. He’s in his basement.)
If you want to see the pictures (of course you do), click the link on the podcast page to the story in the New York Times.
Love,
Kay
I’m off to listen now! Jack Hitt telling a story about the super in his NYC apartment building is one of my favorite things. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/323/the-super
Did you ever send away for sea monkeys? My brother and I did. I remember that ad so well. Now it looks ludicrous — particularly the mom sea monkey with her blonde bob and lipstick — but when we were little kids this was so exciting!
I do remember having a little thing swimming in a glass of blue water in the kitchen! Ann and Kay, I just found copies of your 2 wonderful books, so I am a proud MDK fanatic once again!
Oh. My. God. That is NUTS. You can’t make that stuff up
I read this when it was first published and I think I shared it to everyone I know. It remains one of my favourite longform pieces ever. It has all that, and a sea pony. And I’m not overselling it at all. Twists. Turns. Hilarity. Wonder.
My husband had these when he was a kid. As an adult he was responsible for purchasing these for his nieces and nephews and, finally, our children. I don’t recall exactly how it happened, but my daughter’s sea monkey aquarium (and sea monkeys) ended up overturned onto the carpeting in her bedroom. Not one of my best memories, and the beginning and end of sea monkeys in our household!
I read the adverts for sea monkeys in comics as a child & desperately wanted some. However I grew up in England & the adverts in American comics were priced in dollars which pre PayPal days were some exotic currency I had no hope of getting! I still don’t know what sea monkeys looked like in reality!
I will never forget how disillusioned I was when the sea monkeys came. I squinted and squinted and could not manifest that saucy blond no matter how hard I tried. Couldn’t see through walls with the x-ray glasses either. Thus began my life as an informed consumer. Hahaha….
Oh Kay, You’ve done it again. You brought back such a vivid childhood memory to me. I think that was my first try at buying something as a child, and having it arrive in the mail. I don’t know How I paid for it ? I am almost 100 percent certain my business man father would not have been writing checks out to a comic book sea monkey corporation. Did we send cash??????
Thanks for the think……….
This truly definitely sounds interesting! I’ll have to check this one out, for sure!
Well. That was certainly…entertaining? What a story! Thsnks for sharing!
That picture of the sea monkeys brought back such a sting fourth grade memory of sneaking comic books into school and trying to read them during reading time. Usually not successful. I yearned for sea monkeys and X-ray glasses. Alas it was not meant to be.
I never sent away for any of that stuff in the back of the comics when I was a girl so I did for my sons. I remember those sea monkeys! And all the other stuff we got…so much fun getting those weird things in the mail.
Excellent suggestion. I truly enjoyed listening to this. As a child in upstate NY, I got to see the Cardiff giant (or the imposter, who knows?) I remember wondering how anyone could truly think that was a real giant. Of course, I always wanted those Sea Monkeys too.