"Who bought this? Who wanted this?"

Seattle-based novelty company Archie McPhee is bringing out the weird with a new web series that is reminiscent of the low-budget cable shows of yore, and I mean that in the best way possible. The Archie McPhee Archives with Mr. Q premiere starts with a guy in a leopard-print fez and a black sweatshirt emblazoned with a big white question mark ("Mr. Q") digging through cryptically-marked banker boxes in the company's warehouse. We're then shown each of the bizarro items he chose, one by one. Of course, he saves the best for last. Two words: Mutant. Farm.

As someone who has toured that very warehouse and has dreamt about rifling around in each one of those boxes, I really appreciate this new show. Can't wait to see what they showcase next.

The series was inspired by the items they share in their "too weird" for their "main [Instagram] account," Cult of Bibo. Here's a taste:

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Inspiration for 2020

A post shared by Bibo Weirdmaker (@cultofbibo) on Sep 1, 2019 at 10:12am PDT

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Usually everything is better with googly eyes. Usually. #thrifthorror

A post shared by Bibo Weirdmaker (@cultofbibo) on Nov 7, 2019 at 8:59am PST

Long live, Archie McPhee! Read the rest

Bow down before the one you serve... breakfast to!

There's never been a doubt that the folks at Archie McPhee have a weird sense of humor. In fact, we count on it. Case in point, their latest offering: the Pagan Breakfast God Mask ($17.95). Bacon, check. Eggs, check. Toast with butter, check. Weird as all get out, CHECK.

Yours truly, this past summer when I was at the Archie McPhee HQ recording a podcast (and rocking the Pagan Breakfast God-dess Mask which I've had to keep hush-hush until now!).

photos by Archie McPhee and David Wahl Read the rest

Oh boy, here we go. Archie McPhee has just announced their 2019 candy cane flavors. The star of this year's line-up are the ham-flavored ones, which are aptly called Hamdy Canes.

When the holidays come around, that can only mean one thing: ham! As much ham as you can eat! We think ham flavor is going to be the pumpkin spice of Christmas. Eventually, you’ll be able to get a ham latté. To get the ball rolling, we’ve created Hamdy Canes! You’ll get six ham-flavored candy canes in a box illustrated with a personified ham with a cane. It will cure what ails you. We could make all kinds of hammy jokes, but we’ll stick with the meat of the product. Each candy cane is 5-1/4" tall with pink and white stripes.

Right now you can get a box of six of them for $6, you sicko.

While you're there, pick up boxes of the runners-up too: Kale Candy Canes and Pizza Candy Canes. (I know what I'm secretly gifting in this year's Yankee Swap!) Read the rest

When tiny wigs land in your life, what else can you do but open — not one, but two — pop-up wig shops? One for cats, and one for jars of Fluff.

No joke.

This one is called the "Cousin Oliver":

Hey, since you're here, I wanted to share that I was recently a guest on the Archie McPhee podcast! I talk about my work as a blogger, how I learned I was a superfan of Fluff, and what I know so far about working with Children's Fairyland. You can listen to it here. (Someone asked if we were high when we were recording it. Nope, we just get extra silly and giggly when we get together.) Read the rest

Fashioned after the magnetic drawing boards of yore, "Baby Face" and "Hairless Hugo" take the genre into a whole new, and really amusing, direction. Like "Wooly Willy," you use a magnetic wand to turn a naked face into one adorned with metal shavings "hair." Amongst several funny ideas, it's suggested to turn the baby into a "TV Tough Guy" (Mr. T, is that you?) and the hairless cat into a familiar "TV Painter" (cough *Bob Ross* cough). Good fun!

Both are available at Archie McPhee for $6.95/each. Read the rest

If you were thinking of getting a box of Archie McPhee's Mac & Cheese Candy Canes, get on it.

After a post on @junkfoodmom in mid-September, their cheesy yellow-and-white striped candies started becoming popular ("This one isn’t bad! Smells like cheese and tastes like Mac n cheese but the sweetness overpowers the flavor eventually so it’s doable."). Since then, the candy has been covered all over the internet and even landed a spot in the print version of People magazine. Now, because of its "extreme popularity, Archie McPhee has had to limit its sales of the canes to one box per person.

I asked the company's Director of Awesome David Wahl why he thought they took off like they did and he wrote back,

We actually thought Clamdy Canes would be more popular. Turns out mixing two things people actually like together gets people more excited than actually trying to gross them out. (As we should have learned from the Bacon Candy Canes and Pickle Candy Canes.)

I think we became the “I dare you to try this” food of the moment (and of Christmas!).

Personally, I can’t wait for all the videos of kids trying the Mac and Cheese Candy Canes that Santa brought them.

Get a box while you can for $5.95/each. If they do end up selling out, don't sweat it. There's plenty of those Clamdy Canes (their clam-flavored candy canes) to go around. Read the rest

I know, I know, we shouldn't be talking about the holidays just yet. But, keep clam, Archie McPhee went ahead and released Clamdy Canes -- yes, candy canes that taste like clams -- and I couldn't resist sharing the news with you.

ONE SHELL OF A CANDY From the personified clam on the package to the clam taste, you’ll wonder how Christmas existed without Clamdy Canes. They’re a candy clamity! We all celebrate holidays in our own way and if your holiday tastes like the sea, this is for you. Add a little sand for extra clam realness. If anyone complains, just tell them to clam up. Each candy cane is 5-1/4" tall with gray and white stripes.

A box of six is available for $4.95. Read the rest

Want to know the stories behind finger hands, Handerpants (underpants for hands), and some of the other great novelty products from Seattle-based novelty giant Archie McPhee? I'm going to guess that you do. Let me point you to their new podcast Less Talk, More Monkey on iTunes and Google Play. It's hosted by my buddies-in-pop-culture Shana Danger, David Wahl, and Scott Heff.

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They've been building it up for weeks...

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Have you heard? Just 5 days till our RUBBER CHICKEN MUSEUM GRAND OPENING! I heard there might be cake!?! 🍰🐔You don’t wanna miss out on cake do you?

A post shared by Archie McPhee (@archiemcphee) on May 6, 2018 at 4:20pm PDT

Teasing us with build photos of the world's largest rubber chicken...

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Adding some… ahem… chicken wire. #rcmuseum

A post shared by Archie McPhee (@archiemcphee) on Apr 23, 2018 at 10:24am PDT

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The World’s Largest Rubber Chicken is starting to fill out! (Next will be trimming it down.) #rcmuseum

A post shared by Archie McPhee (@archiemcphee) on Apr 26, 2018 at 9:53am PDT

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We don’t want to spoil the unveiling of the World’s Largest Rubber Chicken (happening at the grand opening of the Rubber Chicken Museum at our Seattle store this Friday (you should come))! But here are some pics to whet your appetite. #rcmuseum

A post shared by Archie McPhee (@archiemcphee) on May 9, 2018 at 9:54am PDT

Now, finally, the folks at Archie McPhee have opened the world's first Rubber Chicken Museum at their retail store in Seattle's Wallingford district! The grand opening ceremony for this fowl museum began on Friday at 3 PM, with much fanfare, clucking, and squawking.

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The opening of the new @archiemcphee Rubber Chicken Museum is close at hand.

A post shared by Mark Pahlow (@mcpheeceo) on May 11, 2018 at 2:45pm PDT

The museum's curator, the High Priestess of the Rubber Chicken Shana Iverson, used giant novelty scissors for the ribbon cutting, which was broadcast on Facebook Live. Read the rest

Protecting your noggin from undesired electromagnetic fields and thought control requires something reflective, yet fashionable. Everyone knows that the tin foil hat has been the go-to choice for years (since at least 1926).

But it's 2018 now and only fools would craft their own headgear, because you can now just buy (a mylar) one from Archie McPhee. It even has a chin strap to keep it on your head.

Wait there's more! You can also protect your cat's head with its own miniature tin foil hat:

I'm guessing the cat version will also fit on the heads of American Girl dolls too. You can't be too safe.

Previously: Tiny finger hands for your finger hands Read the rest

First there were Finger Hands, little vinyl hands that fit on your finger, much like finger puppets. Now, there are Finger Hands for Finger Hands, even smaller hands that fit on the fingers of your Finger Hands (or pens/pencils). Of course, I love them because they're so perfectly bizarre.

For $5 you get 10 of them and they come in light and dark skin tones. If you need A LOT of them, they are available in bulk too (144 mixed skin tones/left and right hands for $59.95). They're from Archie McPhee, of course.

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The rise of the Information Age has put librarians in more demand than ever, according to this recent article in the Wall Street Journal.

It simply makes sense that a librarian action figure would pop into the market, tiny red cape and all. This one is particularly special because it's fashioned after a real hero, librarian Nancy Pearl of Seattle, Washington.

You can pick one up over at Archie McPhee for $9.95. Read the rest