Unseen Fairy Silk

When I was a kid, I saw a commercial for a little worm thing that moved as if by magic. They weren’t pretending that it was alive or something. They presented it as a great trick.

The commercial said, “are there strings? I don’t see any!”

My little self took that to mean that there wasn’t a string. There was just a really cool trick going on that made the worm move around.

My parents got it for me, and it was a string. I was crushed. I mean, crushed. If you ever tried to show the worm, the first thing anyone would say is, “hey, it must be a string.” And you couldn’t show that it wasn’t.

That worm is still around. Nowadays, instead of saying that they don’t see a string, they make it sound scientific:

“This magic trick works based on your body motion. When you move, the magic worm moves. If you stop, it stops.”

As though it’s some neato-zowie method of control via body motion. Instead, it’s a string tied to your belt (or whatever).

Today, the Amazon.com Toy blog raves about a new lie to tell your kids: Real (i.e. Fake) Flying Fairies.

The blogger thinks it’s great, but I think it’s horrible. Horrible and crappy and deceitful. And they’re not even selling it as a trick. They’re making up some happy crap about “fairy silk.”

In other words, a string.

Ok, if someone isn’t buying it AS A MAGIC TRICK, then I guess it’s not a big deal. I seem to carry that baggage, though. Poor kids. Disappointments around every corner.

5 Responses to Unseen Fairy Silk

  1. BruceS February 25, 2009 at 10:08 am #

    I was really offended that they would tell such outrageous lies (everyone knows that fairies don’t make silk), until I watched the video. It’s *pixie* silk! The blogger on Amazon misquoted. I suppose we all know what to call the magic wand the operator used.

    FWIW, I’m against lying to children in general, and especially when said lie is for entertainment purposes. Our daughter grew up without Santa, Satan, the Easter Bunny, the Easter Magic Corpse, et al. We even went so far as to admit it when we didn’t know the answer to her questions. I hope she gets a good enough job to afford the therapy.

  2. BruceS February 25, 2009 at 10:09 am #

    Oh, and didn’t you mean “if someone is buying it AS A MAGIC TRICK”?

  3. BruceS February 25, 2009 at 10:13 am #

    I just checked out the “magic worm” site, and had to laugh. “The boys were playing with that worm when they went to bed and they were playing with it when they got up.” Yep, that’s a little boy for you; once he discovers the joys of the magic worm, he’ll play with it at every opportunity.

  4. weeklyrob February 25, 2009 at 1:50 pm #

    This one time, I typed it correctly. If they’re buying it as a magic trick, then they’re bound to be disappointed, ’cause it’s a string.

    If they’re buying it ’cause they like to play with it, then it’s not as bad.

    I didn’t even think about Playing with the Worm until you mentioned it. You’re a bad boy.

  5. BruceS February 26, 2009 at 11:07 am #

    Ah, I see. I was thinking that if they didn’t buy it as a magic trick, they were believing the “magic”.

    My wife frequently says I’m “bad” or “naughty”. I used to say that my mind was only in the gutter when it had to come up for air.

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