Back in 1979, Nickelodeon's "You Can’t Do That on Television" took a monumental step forward in the slime evolution by dousing kids in green goop. Ah, how things have changed since then. But the slime craze is back — although today it's less about drenching celebrities and more about making your own squishy stress balls.
Slime aside, Jeff Bezos becomes a robot and a couple of cowboys ride horses — in a Wal-Mart.
This, and more, in this week’s Retail Therapy.
Move over Nickelodeon, Etsy is selling DIY slime
From the "Kids Choice Awards" to "You Can’t Do That on Television" to "Slime Time Live" and a host of other shows where celebrities and kids are routinely drenched in gooey, green slime, the strange substance has become something of a trademark for cable network Nickelodeon.
But now others have caught on — and this time, it’s all about DIY.
The make-your-own-slime trend has taken off — to the point where Etsy even has a searchable category for “slime” that delivers over 12,600 results. So what exactly is slime? The beauty is that it is up to you. Sellers on Etsy offer a host of options. Pick your poison: Butter slime, crunchy slime, fluffy slime, fishbowl slime and even Green Tea Frappe Starbucks slime.
Or if you’re more of a do-it-yourself kind of person, create your own slimy mess. The internet is now chock-full of tutorials on how to make your own slime using glue, shaving cream, baby lotion, water, borax and food coloring. (Sorry, Nickelodeon, your secret recipe is out.)
Those are all ingredients that can be found at Office Depot, which wants shoppers to know it isn't a strictly pencil-and-paper kind of retailer anymore. “Office Depot and OfficeMax have all the ingredients slime makers need, making one-stop shopping easy for families,” the company said in a press release this week, announcing a nationwide slime-making demonstration day on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. local times — one of the strangest efforts to drive store traffic that we have seen.
Still confused? Here's how to get your slime on:
Nathan Fielder’s outdoor apparel/Holocaust awareness pop-up
Unlike some outdoor sports apparel retailers (*cough* Gander Mountain *cough*), Summit Ice — the brand launched by comedian Nathan Fielder's Comedy Central's "reality" show "Nathan for You" — is raking in the dollars. So much so that Fielder announced this week that Summit Ice is donating $150,000 to Holocaust education in his native Canada. Who would have guessed that a joke jacket would turn into a do-good brand with a sustainable following?
Summit Ice is also opening its first pop-up shop this weekend in Vancouver (and therefore becoming a “real” business) and giving away “Deny nothing” pins. Its advertising is on point: Just watch.
Mecha Jeff Bezos
At one point or another, we’ve all thought that Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos could be a robot. Think about it: He's often quiet, reserved, calculated and a powerful genius with limited emotional range. Alas, Bezos presents himself in human form.
Until this week.
While it is still unconfirmed whether Bezos is actually a robot, at a top-secret Amazon conference Monday he at least played the part, taking control of a 13-foot, 1.5-ton robotic exo-suit. “Why do I feel so much like Sigourney Weaver?” Bezos said, referencing the mecha suit worn by the actress in the 1986 sci-fi film "Aliens." The comparison is visually apt, despite the lack of alien-slaying at the conference.
I just got to pilot an awesome (and huge) robot thanks to Hankook Mirae Technology. Nice! #MARS2017 pic.twitter.com/MvN6ghEYFi
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) March 20, 2017
@JeffBezos "Why do I feel so much like #sigourneyweaver ?" @amazon #MARS2017 #openpodbaydoors pic.twitter.com/HRRzmQtZbh
— Caleb Harper (@calebgrowsfood) March 20, 2017
Two cowboys ride into a Wal-Mart...
This may sound like the start of a bad bar joke, but oh no — this is real. On Sunday, Woody Fields and his pal rode their horses straight into a Houston, TX Wal-Mart.
The two Texas cowboys filmed the escapade on Facebook Live, and the viral video has garnered nearly 4 million views as of publication. In the video, Fields is shown walking his horse up and down aisles, saying “We is in Wally World. Wal-Mart! Low prices, baby.” At one point, as he is about to exit the store, Fields yells to his friend (referenced only as “Hank”) to catch up before he gets caught.
Looks like those rascals got away this time: Wal-Mart security guards are seen just outside the store looking confused. I guess that equals a successful shopping trip. The two cowboys are even seen bumping fists at the end of the video, exclaiming “We did it.”
We can’t help but imagine this is the result of some drinking bet gone awry.
