The mid ’80s saw a rush on dolls that “come to live with you.” Television ad space was filled with toys literally asking to be a part of your home. If Pound Puppies, Cabbage Patch Kids, or My Buddy were too cute for your taste, you could always adopt a Boglin.
These grotesque rubber hand puppets boasted articulated eyes, elaborate dangling arms, a long tail, and an eternal promise to gross out the ‘normals’. They were pretty impressively built; I had one and while I didn’t get to gross out any normals I did play with it quite a bit. It even held its color after a few summers in an over-chlorinated Florida pool.
The grossness of the Boglin and the fad of the narrative of the Boglin coming to live at your house, these are understandable things. What boggles my mind is what came next, when the Boglins brand hooked into the 1-900 number craze of the late ’80s and ’90s. If you ponied up a few bucks, you could apparently hear tips from Boglins on how to gross out the normals or scare innocent animals?
At least if you called it multiple times you could get some cheap hologram cards. Cool?
-ds