Pick-A-Day

January 2025
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Archives

Whatchamacallit 131: Grow A Boyfriend

This boyfriend was a present from a friend – I think I know which one, but, to be honest, it wouldn’t surprise me if a number of different friends had given it to me.

As you can see, it will grow up to four times his size in water – so he’s a grower […]

Whatchamacallit 129: Berliner Luft (Part 1)

A year or two ago I was in a la-di-da kids shop, Kleine Gesellschaft, in Prenzlauer Berg, where I stumbled upon “Berliner Luft.”

It’s the kind of kids shop that is so upscale and pretentious that it has its own brand toys.

This is, simply put, a bottle of soapy water, complete with one […]

Whatchamacallit 127: Star Trek Figures from 2009 / Burger King

This small collection of Star Trek characters was acquired while I lived in Weimar.

These were the toys included with kid’s meals at Burger King – and I discovered that they existed too late to eat enough meals to get all the toys – so I have Scotty, Kirk, Old Spock, Sulu, and Young […]

Whatchamacallit 125: Brandenburg Tor as a sand castle model

This is Brandenburg Tor as a toy – one that you fill with sand, compact, moisten, then flip and, voila! Brandenburg Tor has come to the beach.

Ignore the fact that it has an incorrect number of pillars – it should be six.

I bought this in 2015 in preparation for my around the […]

Whatchamacallit 114: Wooden Tree

I acquired this wooden tree when I lived in Weimar.

Thinking back, I believe I bought it at a kids toy shop that featured only natural materials (e.g. no plastic). However, I am not 100% confident about this. My guess is that I bought it for a friend who was having a baby but […]

Whatchamacallit 67: nanoblock Brandenburg Tor

This is another Brandenburg Tor, this time made out of nanoblocks.

With its brushy brethren, it resides in my kitchen – a fun reminder of Berlin’s number one tourist attraction.

I ordered it June 1, 2014 (Thanks Amazon for reminding me) – and my distinct memory of building it is that it took me […]