• NessD@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    That’s super kind and probably made the kids day. ❤️

    Just a fun fact: There is no merchandise for Calvin and Hobbes. At least no official and legal merch. Bill Watterson never wanted to take away from the impact of the comic strip so he never authorised any merchandise except for a few compilations and calendars. Everything else is bootleg.

    • threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      2 months ago

      I have so much respect for Watterson for doing that. He could have made millions from licensing deals, but chose not to, purely for artistic reasons.

      The Hobbes in this story was custom made by the boy’s aunt, which I hope Watterson would be fine with :)

    • BougieBirdie@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      2 months ago

      My buddy has a homemade Hobbes doll that his mom made in the comics’ heyday, it’s like his most prized possession.

      Still technically a bootleg, but very sweet all the same

  • neidu2@feddit.nl
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    2 months ago

    I have the kind of job that takes me to all sorts of places around the world every now and then. Obviously my kids would like to come with me. Obviously they can’t.

    So instead we have an agreement: They get to select one plushie each to come with me, and I take pictures of what they’re doing.

    So I have pictures of them:

    • Sitting on front of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur
    • Eating tacos at T.J. Birria Y Mas in Houston
    • At an airport playground in Amsterdam
    • Enjoying a business class meal onboard Thai Airways
    • Playing in a tree in a park in Singapore
    • Getting a hug from our crewing manager at the head office
    • Watching the screens attentively in the instrument room of a survey ship
    • On a beach in Galveston, TX
    • Having a pizza in Doha

    Every time I come home, the first thing on the agenda is to see these pictures. My kids’plushies are among the most well traveled plushies in the world.

    A thought just occurred to me. If I made “passports” for them, obvously pretend, but with picture and everything, do you think customs and border agents around the world would stamp them for me? EDIT: My kids and I will be making passports for one plushie each. Let’s see if they get stamped in Saudi Arabia on my next trip.

    A couple of examples I found in my gallery:

    • RubberElectrons@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Try it? I think you’d need to have a fast explanation (I.e. elevator pitch) because the customs people are usually a little overworked.

      Some might refuse, perhaps even all of them. But try it, might even get a taste of group psychology… if a few agents stamp, will other agents, seeing real stamps, decide more easily to stamp as well?

      • neidu2@feddit.nl
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        2 months ago

        “Could you please stamp these as well, for my kids to see?”

        If they refuse that, I don’t think anything else would work either.

  • littleblue✨@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Reminds me of the last time I traveled with checked bags, only I was watching the locator while the agents feigned ignorance.

    • yo_scottie_oh@lemmy.ml
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      2 months ago

      Would you mind expanding on this? When you say you were watching the locator, did you have like one of those Apple air tags in your bag or something else?

      • littleblue✨@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Yep. A fresh Tile in each of our bags and one secretly on our teen while he thought he was being allowed to roam around Rome on his own. 🤪🤫 We watched as both bags moved around JFK, flew to Rome, then moved around that airport, and then flew back to JFK. 🤬🌋☠️ Things were missing from them when we got back home, and thankfully the Italian airlines reimbursed a few hundred for the stolen items (heirloom clothing from late relative, etc.== irreplaceable, ofc), but no one at any point admitted fault. Fuck airlines, full stop.