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Squirmles

squirmlesI was probably about three years old. The Cheerios box, of which I was an avid everday reader, had an ad for these little guys called Squirmles.

The ad portrayed these fluffy wormy play things as pets that did tricks, crawled through walls, up table legs, across the counter, and so on. The possibilities were endless, and I wanted one.

After days and days and weeks of begging my mom to send away for my Squirmles, she finally did. I helped her cut out the coupon from the box, filled out my name, picked my color (orange), and helped her stick the stamp on the envelope. We dropped it in the mail that day and came home. And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

“Are the Squirmles here yet?” “Not yet.”

So I waited.

And waited.

And waited, checking the mailbox each day. No package, no Squirmle, no nothing.

More waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.

About a month and a half later, my mom came in with the mail with a smile on her face. “I think this package may be for you,” she grinned, handing me the package.

I grabbed it in my little hands and struggled to tear open the corner. Mom helped. Inside the bubblewrap-lined manila envelope was a Squirmle! My friend! My cohort! My partner in crime! We were gonna change the world.

And he’s finally here!

Convinced that the two-month wait was well worth what would be coming next, I began gathering props from around the house so that my Squirmle and I could pull off some of the stunts boasted on the back of the Cheerios box.

A drinking glass gave us the drinking glass trick; I’d put the Squirmle in and pull him out by the invisible string. I set up the shutter doors on the closet just so, weaving the invisible line through the shutters perfectly, and voila! I pulled on the line and the Squirmle magically crawled in and out of the shutters. It was amazing!

After about five minutes of redefining the idea of fun with my Squirmle, I noticed what it was made of. If you can imagine a fishing line with some orange fuzz glued to an eight-inch segment of it, and a couple of those sticky beady eyes slapped on the thing, you’ve got a Squirmle.

After about five and a half minutes, probably after I was trying to pull off the “round the coffee table and under the couch manuever” with the Squirmle, the whole thing fell apart. I mean everywhere. Orange hairs scattered through the room, wedged in the carpet, some stuck between the chair backs and seats, stray orange hairs in the used cereal bowls on the table. Beady eyes nowhere to be found.

I cried. I wept. Like a little girl.

All that waiting, all that hoping, all that anticipation built up to one heartbreaking crescendo. I ordered my Squirmle, I waited for my Squirmle, and waited for my Squirmle, and waited for my Squirmle, and waited…and finally received my Squirmle. With open arms. And played with my Squirmle, for a good five minutes.

And killed my Squirmle.

Yep. Like a little girl.

22 comments… add one
  • Steph April 17, 2007, 7:28 am

    Ha. I had a similar experience with a Popple.

    (toys that end in “-le” can’t be trusted.)

    That’s what we get for having high expectations and buying into marketing schemes. Man, it’s a harsh world.

  • puzzlez April 19, 2007, 4:18 pm

    I am a squirmle lover, too. :-)
    I got the first one when I was about 10.
    Now, I’m adult, and still love the magical pet a lot.

    My first one died in about 10mins. :-(
    They should print the detailed instruction on package to maintain.

    Now my black squirmle lives more than 1 month,
    (and still like a new one)
    because I find a good way to fix it.
    If you check and fix it before losing its hair,
    squirmles could be long-lived. :-)

  • Minkie May 1, 2007, 3:52 pm

    You still can get really good squirmles in The Netherlands. They call them magic twisty. I have 15 different colors of them. I also gave them to my schoolkids (i’m a teacher) They were soooo happy.
    I purchased them on http://www.funny-toys-store.com (see website address).

    Minkie (biggest Squirmles fan in the world :-)

  • Kaylan August 7, 2009, 12:28 pm

    It doesn’t matter what brand of squirmles you get i’ve gotten alot of different brands it’s the same toy in a different package. If you want it to last long don’t put it in water! It falls apart, the fur comes off! Don’t weave or pull it through tight spots the fur can come off or the string breaks. Following these rules will make your squirmle last a life time!:)

  • nockder August 30, 2009, 4:33 pm

    i love squirmels but i just cannot do the tricks and a small peice of fur came off

  • Sean September 7, 2009, 7:34 am

    igot my squirmle like 2 day ago and i only know 3 tricks and the only problem ive had was the cardboard thing that holds the string broke and i had to make a nother 1

  • YAHIRA CINTORA October 25, 2009, 5:32 pm

    HI MY NAME IS YAHIRA I DO ALL THE TRICKS OF
    SQUIRMES ITS COOL

  • Danielle December 25, 2009, 8:03 pm

    Soo its Christmas and my 9 year old brother got a sguirmle and can’t do any tricks with it he is sooooo sad i want one too

  • Danielle December 25, 2009, 8:04 pm

    I want a Squirmle

  • nana March 28, 2010, 8:21 am

    i cant even start my stupid but yet kewl squirmles.

  • Jasmine May 28, 2010, 12:46 pm

    Ugh..
    I got mine yesterday and when i was making it crawl through my fingers and i opened the drawer to get my phone it snapped because i put it to close to the edge of the drawer D:
    Now my sister is mad at me and yelled “Im gonna tell big sister”
    and i said fine ok.

  • soso August 25, 2010, 5:05 pm

    about 2 months ago i got a squirmle so fun and cute 2 weeks later his furame off them got a orange one and he fell in hot chocolat. know they got new 2 packs origanal and………..BABY SQUIRMLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love them

  • Anubis1000 October 7, 2010, 11:17 pm

    This is the funniest story…i laughed and laughed considering i never had one when i was a lil kid.

    Im 35 now and about two years ago had finally found one again in Florida after all these long years, and got it – it was an awesome squirmle…BLACK and one of the larger squirmles…hell, i wasnt gonna waste time with the baby squirmles not after having waited almost 30 years….

    It died……and i left the dead little furless carcass in Florida after returning to California from vacation. lol

  • jaced.com October 8, 2010, 11:11 am

    @Anubis1000: Thanks for sharing, and I’m sorry for your loss.

  • Adnan Erraki December 3, 2010, 11:22 am

    I got a Squirmle yesterday and learned like all the tricks today and now Im a pro at it. But yesterday my Squirmles string broke like 4 times and now the string is so short. OH yeah and now Squirmles comes in a package with two in it a big one and a small. =]

  • jenny December 31, 2010, 1:00 am

    Hi everyone! i remember the first time i got my squirmle… her name was Azula.. she was blue of course, any way i would aways keep my self entertained by playing with her but one sad day .. i was playing too rough and her nose fell off and it was so short! i thought oh no. so she died later by my moms dog. later i got a pink one ,iris, she fell apart, then a green, ignaz, gave him to a friend, later an orange one, ike, lost him, and got a another blue one named Azula again, of course her nose is short but i decided to keep her anyway. then i got two new ones , a baby and a parent, BABY, ignaz , green, PARENT IRIS, PINK, and they are both in good condition but iris has a inch of string left, and the other ones string is half a foot long! and i’m planing on getting ……….. 18 more!!!!!!! I HOPE U LIKED MY STORY , PS IT’S ALL TRUE!!!!

  • o.p. November 7, 2011, 3:25 pm

    i got my first squirmle at the beginning of october from my cousin while i was staying at her house for the weekend and while i was there my 8 year old cousin (the one tht gave me the squirmle is 12) wanted to play with it with me so i let her not thinking anything of it and then after like an hour of playing with it, the eyes came off so now im back home of course and my first squirmle is at my bffs house and on saturday i got two more from toys r us and they are in perfect condition

  • kaitlynh March 16, 2012, 6:04 pm

    I have one and his name is Timmy. Timmy is orange. I still have him with me. And it’s been about 3 or 4 hours.

  • sholto August 22, 2012, 3:44 pm

    hey! i have 1 yellow squirmel, 1 green squirmel, and 1 pink squirmel! yesterday on amazon i ordered a 2 pack of squirmels (not parent and baby) but anyways, i have had my yellow squirmel for 1 and a half years and his string is short now, some of his nose is ripped off, his tale has a little curly thing that doesn`t have hair on it, and his eyes fell off. here`s a suliction 4 any1 with the same problems with there squirmel. you can buy the same kindof eyes @ the $1 store, reattach the string, (or get fishing wire) the nose and tale u can`t do much about. but i suggest (in consideration of my past squirmel smoopy. i no wierd name but watevs) that you don`t put them in water, tight spaces, and DO NOT let u and your friend play tug of war or pull on it. the other 2 have a story 2 but i think you get the point. anyways. laters.
    sholto, 😀

  • Natalie Krommenhoek February 22, 2013, 11:17 am

    Hi! I just ordered 12 packs of squirmels! And they come with babies! Soooo excited!

  • damion November 19, 2013, 2:53 pm

    im buying my new squirmle today im getting the one with baby so if ibreak one im ok ill start using baby i dont wana break big guy lol well if u have any tips email me at (damionmcclellen@gmail.com) or (damionmcclellen@gmail.com)

  • Addie Vint March 26, 2014, 6:31 pm

    ok my friends brother broke mine I was heart broken and still am : * (

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