Road Trip & Comic Strips | Relaxed Reflections to Ease Anxiety

In Road Trip & Comic Strips, Marco and Amanda invite you along for a cozy drive to London, Ontario, where the miles pass easily and the conversation flows without hurry. What begins as a gentle road trip reflection gradually drifts into the comforting world of classic comic strips, including The Far Side, Peanuts, and Cathy. They share which cartoons shaped their sense of humour and recall specific panels that still make them smile. From there, the discussion meanders into childhood memories — beloved dolls, the endlessly fascinating slinky, and those small objects that once held entire afternoons of attention.
As with every episode of this calming podcast, the tone is soft, relaxed, and intentionally low-stakes. It’s a relaxing conversation designed to help you fall asleep, ease anxiety, and quiet racing thoughts at the end of the day. The nostalgic themes make it perfect for background listening while you wind down at bedtime or during a middle-of-the-night wake-up. There’s no rush to reach a destination — just steady companionship, gentle laughter, and familiar memories to guide you toward rest.

​Roadtrips and Comic strips

(Original airdate Oct 2m 2025)

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help guide you or bring you to a place of relaxation, calm, chill, or hopefully even sleep.


Amanda and I drove to London, Ontario and back today

I'm your host, Marco Timpano I'm sitting

Amanda: here with my eyes closed. I'm Amanda Barker.

Marco: Amanda, you and I drove to London, Ontario and back.

Amanda: yes, we did. And I'm tired. It's a.

Marco: It's a bit of a drive. I will say that it is. It's a beautiful place.

Amanda: And a beautiful drive.

Marco: And a beautiful drive. And it was a beautiful day today, so I'm not complaining about any of those things.

Amanda: And we got to do beautiful work.

Marco: We did.

Amanda: Which we're always happy to have Universe here. Hear me?

Marco: Yes, exactly.

Amanda: But, I am tired, sure. As are you, I think. And I just closed my eyes for a half beat, and it almost felt like, you know in the morning when your alarm goes and you're like, I'm just gonna rest my eyes for 10 minutes. Yes, I'm in those 10 more minutes right now.

Marco: Fantastic.

Amanda: And I don't think I'm getting out of them. And I'm wondering, I think I might do this whole podcast with my eyes closed.

Marco: Oh, that'll be fascinating.


AD Free episodes are now on Supercast

Well, I want to acknowledge anyone who's listening who worked really hard today, too, and just let them know, listen, you worked hard today. You deserve to rest and ch. And, we're grateful that you were able to do that work. And now you're in a place where you're listening to our podcast and if

Amanda: you kind of are feeling well, I didn't really work that hard today. I'm going to tell you something. You did.

Marco: Yes.

Amanda: And so you also deserve to have that feeling of a day well spent. Even if you did, quote, unquote, nothing, you, believe me, did lots of things. And it's a day well spent. And I want you to have that completely. Like you left, as we say as actors, you left it all in the room feeling like there's nothing else left to give.

Marco: Yeah. Ah.

Amanda: Except surrendering into peace and calmness.

Marco: I love that. And I want to say a special thank you to everyone who's reached out and helped me really figure out the super cast of, with our podcast. So if you want to hear AD Free episodes, they are now on Supercast. You go to the Insomnia Project, Supercast ca and you can get AD Free listens there. I will be putting more and more episodes up there. So right now there's three seasons and I'm going to be putting up more. So thank you for your patience with that as well, and thank you for being our listeners. It's always so, so nice.


Marco says aging makes him acutely aware of his bones

I was telling people about this podcast today, and they were all really fascinated about it.

Amanda: Marco, something's going on with me. I pulled the thing in my bum cheek.

Marco: Okay, we don't usually use that kind of language on this podcast. Yes.

Amanda: Right buttock.

Marco: Sure. I think those are lower back. Lower back.

Amanda: Well, but it's not your back.

Marco: Upper thigh.

Amanda: It's not your thigh. and the result of it. One of the results of it is that I'm acutely aware of my bones and I can feel them in the chair. Is that weird in a way I never have before?

Marco: Well, I don't know. I. I would just say that's part of aging.

Amanda: I know. I think it is.

Marco: Now, does. Does your.

Amanda: Your pointy bum bones? I don't know what those are called. This is not a science podcast.

Marco: Your coccyx.

Amanda: No, that's your spine. That's your spine. I'm talking about the ones that make contact with the chair. And you hope to have some flesh to. Between them and the chair. Well, there's less flesh for some reason. And now that's all I feel.

Marco: I see. Are they telling you it's gonna rain or not? Because if it's gonna rain, I want to bring our, pillows from outside in. Are you getting those premonition bone feelings? No.

Amanda: Premonition bones, no. but you remind me of my. It's so stupid. My favorite Far side comic.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: Which was three guys sitting on a porch, and one guy is like, oh, I think something's happening with the weather because my thumb is really big and his thumb is hurting. Then the other guy's like, oh, I think there's definitely a storm coming because I can feel it in my knee. And then the third guy has, like, this ginormous head and he's like, there's definitely a change in the weather because I think my head is really big and his head is, like, ginormous. I was probably 10 when I saw it or something, and it seemed very funny to me. It doesn't seem so funny now that I'm sitting telling you about farsight.

Marco: Well, when you have to describe a comic, it doesn't always.

Amanda: Comics don't always hold up.

Marco: No, but farsight is funny.

Amanda: I remember reading them in the back of the paper, like, growing up, and you were like, ha, ha. Like, they were never funny. Like Family Circus.

Marco: I had Family Circus books.

Amanda: Oh, so you were a big fan? A Family Circus fan?

Marco: I guess I was little. I think when I was little, it was a comic that you could read that was kind of funny, but not.

Amanda: Not really, though. I Have you ever looked at a Family Circus comic and actually laughed out loud?

Marco: I, mean, I don't know if I blurted out loud, like, you know,

Amanda: I'd say lulled, as the kids say. But the people who say LOL are not kids anymore. LOL is the middle aged. Used to be the millennial. Young millennials. Now they're middle aged. Millennials say people who sell lull have

Marco: bursitis like you do. It sounds like.

Amanda: And Reed Family Circus.

Marco: Well, I used to read Family Circus when I was young, and now as an adult, I don't think Family Circus speaks to me.

Amanda: Family Spurkus, Family Spurcus.

Marco: but I do like Calvin and Hobbes.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco: Always a favorite. I do like Far side.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco: Never got into Marmaduke. You seem like someone who would read Marmaduke.

Amanda: What does that mean?

Marco: I don't know.

Amanda: A Marmaduke reader. What was Marmaduke a dog?

Marco: It was a Great Dane.

Amanda: No. How do I seem like someone who is a Marmaduke reader?

Marco: You don't seem like the type of person who would read Kathy comics. You're not a cat. I don't think, you know, Blarg is not something that, you know, you would.

Amanda: I am a Kathy comic, so I don't need to read my life. You know what I mean?

Marco: Fair enough.

Amanda: No, I'm not into Kathy.

Marco: I used to work with someone who would say smooches all the time.

Amanda: Oh, yeah, people do say that. Is that what that's from?


Matt Groening comics gave lasagna a boost in late 80s

Marco: Yeah, I think so.

Amanda: Smooches.

Marco: Yeah.

Amanda: and I'm not into Marmaduke. And I don't even know what to do with that accusation.

Marco: Listen, Christmas is not that far away. You might get, Marmaduke's greatest comics.

Amanda: my sister went through a real Garfield phase.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: Coincidentally, not coincidentally, she hates lasagna. No, she loves lasagna. And I think because of that comic, I think lasagna got a real big boost. Boost. I think nonnas around the world were, like, asked to make extra lasagna in the late 80s because of. And mid-80s, I guess because of, the rise in popularity from Garfield.

Marco: I think if you had a nonna, you didn't have to ask for lasagnas. They were just made.

Amanda: I, ah, guess.

Marco: Does your sister hate.

Amanda: Well, if you had a Valerie, which was what we had, we had to ask for lasagna.

Marco: Does your sister hate Mondays, is the question.

Amanda: I don't know. You're gonna have to ask her. so I would read her Garfield comics. and they were well read. And then we got into. Yeah, far side a little bit.

Marco: Loved far side.

Amanda: Yeah, far side was great. That was more late 80s. That was like the edgy one. But we actually got really into very early. I'm gonna say the last name wrong. Probably Matt Groening.

Marco: Yeah.

Amanda: The Simpsons before pre Simpsons. So he had. He had characters. Well, two were called Akbar and fez.

Marco: Yes.

Amanda: I can't claim anything on them or remember too much, but we were really, really into Matt Groening or whatever his groaning.

Marco: Isn't it?

Amanda: It looks like groening, but I think it's pronounced groening or greening or. It's not a word that's pronounced as it's as you think it is. But anyway, whatever it is. So we got really into those and those felt very subversive. And I think they were considered as such again in the late 80s. And then as a 12 year old child. So think of the 12 year olds. We know a couple 11 year olds right now.

Marco: Yeah. Amanda has her eyes wide open right now.

Amanda: Friends, in case you're wondering. I didn't commit to that bit. but while I woke up, all this exciting, comic Marmaduke talk. Marmaduke talk always brings me back to the table. but the Matt Groening comics were seen as like this new, interesting, fun, exciting.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: Little fringe piece of comedy. And I, on the Branley new channel, started watching fox tv.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: Back in the day. Back in the day, like 21 Jump street was their first show, I think. And they hosted the Tracy Ullman show. So I would watch that every Sunday night without fail on my little tv. Staying up, you know, telling my parents I went to bed and then watching the Tracey Ullman show in my room. And as we all know, the Simpsons. The Simpsons were the interstitials. And it was just a little like get that cool Matt Groening guy to do characters. And he didn't do Akbar and fez. He did this family. And we all know what they became, but they were just an offshoot of bigger plans he had. That's obviously what took off.

Marco: Did you ever read the Dilbert comics?

Amanda: No, I'm not a Dilbert fan.

Marco: Neither am I. How about peanuts? Chuck?

Amanda: I like peanuts. Peanuts. Of all the ones that were in the back of the newspaper, Peanuts was the one. Was the one I liked the most because I really liked snoopy and Woodstock.

Marco: I see those were your two favorite.

Amanda: Yeah. There was something really like dry witted about them that I enjoyed. How about you?

Marco: Yeah, I liked. I liked Charlie Brown and all those things. Peppermint Patty and, you know, the gang.

Amanda: Was she your favorite?

Marco: No, I don't think peppermint Patty was my favorite. I have, funny enough, I have a T shirt I bought. So I like soft, very soft T shirts. And oftentimes the softest T shirts are not the T shirts you think I would buy.


Bob Evans is a family-style restaurant originally from Pennsylvania or Ohio

So I have a whole collection from. What's that restaurant.

Amanda: Oh, Bob Evans.

Marco: Bob Evans had this super sale of T shirts when we were there once.

Amanda: We should explain Bob Evans because we don't even have them in our neck of the woods.

Marco: Right.

Amanda: Should I explain?

Marco: Yeah.

Amanda: Bob Evans is a, family style restaurant that I think is originally from Pennsylvania or Ohio.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: And it kind of lives in those areas. Although, it's probably most states have Bob Evans now, but some more than others, for sure. And they have this thing where they serve. So it's like your typical diner food. Really.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: Things with gravy and a couple really good big salads. But they serve their salads and most of their things with like banana bread or cornbread or like a sweet, like sweet cranberry bread. Like almost like a desserty kind of bread.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: Which is genius.

Marco: And Amanda's all over it.

Amanda: I am.

Marco: Well, I shop the front area where they sell little cups and little salt and pepper shakers because you know that I love the knickknacky things while we were there. And they had a whole bunch of T shirts that were super soft and on sale. And so I have, an abundance of T shirts that say, I love biscuits and gravy. Flap my jack, will you? Things like that. Like sayings that you wouldn't expect me to wear. And I have a T shirt that I bought at the theme park not too far from our home called Canada's Wonderland that has peppermint patty on it. And it's blue and it's super soft and it says roller coaster hair and her hair is all messed up. And so these are the T shirts that I will wear. Not every day when I.

Amanda: And a special person was very excited about that shirt.

Marco: My nephew could not wait to see my pajamas. And that's one of these.

Amanda: I'm so excited to see Xiomarco's pajamas, and rightly so.

Marco: And I did not disappoint with my Peppermint Patty T. shirt. So I'm. I don't know why I got into this. Oh, we got into it because of comics.

Amanda: Wanted people to know that you every night faithfully sleep in a peppermint Patty. T shirt.

Marco: And it's fantastic. My favorite T shirt. So. So, yeah, those are the comics. I'm trying to think of other comics. Did you ever read calvin and hobbes?

Amanda: No, I didn't ever get out. Got into that, really.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: I mean, I think the Matt groening comics were my favorite, But I seem to pick those up over and over and think they were just so funny and cool.

Marco: do you remember there was this comic? I think it's an old comic that they would run in the paper. I don't even think they have comics in papers anymore.

Amanda: I know. It's.

Marco: When was the last time I read a newspaper? I picked up an actual newspaper, you

Amanda: know, when we were at the cottage last week. We've been doing a lot of cottage times.

Marco: A lot of renos.

Amanda: A lot of renos. Yeah. And, so anyways, I like being up in the neck of the woods, and we try to support all the local businesses as we do here.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: So there's a convenience store basically across the street almost, and we try to support them. So when we were up there, it just struck me there was a guy there buying the paper. Such a simple act. But it occurred to me, I don't know, the last time there's been somebody behind me or in front of me in a line just in a place just to buy a paper.

Marco: Yeah.

Amanda: But they must, because people read the paper, I guess. Still, I wish. I want to read the paper more. You should read the paper, because you know what? I don't want to read it on my phone. I want to read it.

Marco: No, you want to hold the physical paper.

Amanda: I do, actually, but then I don't. That's. I already have enough magazine. Like, I have a lot of papers.

Marco: Will you read the comics to me if you buy. If I buy you a paper?

Amanda: Yeah. Will you buy me a newspaper subscription?

Marco: No.

Amanda: I might ask for that for Christmas.

Marco: That's quite expensive.

Amanda: Oh, is it?

Marco: I think so. You get the paper every day.

Amanda: I don't want a paper every day. I want the Sunday version, the big, thick one that has, like, artists and musicians in it. I don't want to read headlines every day.


Amanda got so many magazines. Can you just subscribe to lifestyle section of a page

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: But I do want to read the like. Can you just subscribe to the lifestyle section of a page?

Marco: No, it doesn't. Then get a magazine.

Amanda: Well, we do that. I do that.

Marco: Yes, you do. There was a point where Amanda got so many magazines.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco: That I was like, I just can't. There's too many magazines in the home

Amanda: that Was called the best year of my life.

Marco: Okay, well, there you go.


Is there a cartoon that you enjoyed watching as a child

So, bridging the gap between comics and cartoons, Is there a cartoon that you enjoyed watching? Like, I. I don't think you. You watched the Flintstones, did you?

Amanda: As a child, I watched a ton Flintstones, but I didn't particularly enjoy them.

Marco: Okay. Did you watch the Jetsons?

Amanda: Yeah, I felt about the same.

Marco: Okay. What about Jabber Jaw?

Amanda: I don't. Excuse me.

Marco: Jabberjaw was the shark that. That played in a band. I think you, didn't see too many of those cartoons. That was one of my favorite.

Amanda: Jabberjaw.

Marco: Yeah. Scooby Doo.

Amanda: I really did not like Scooby.

Marco: Oh, my goodness. Okay, so what cartoons did you like?

Amanda: The thing is, the real irony of my life is I didn't like animation.

Marco: Right.

Amanda: I still, to this day, don't really. And the reason this is an irony is that my sister is a professional animator.

Marco: This is the sister who hates Mondays but loves lasagna.

Amanda: These things are probably still true. She's such an artist. The fact that we're calling her a walking Kathy comic is kind of awesome.

Marco: no, I'm not calling her. I'm calling her a Garfield comic.

Amanda: Garfield meets Kathy and they had a baby.

Marco: No, I never said she was Kathy. I don't want.

Amanda: She hates Mondays. Oh, that's. Oh, I thought Kathy hated Mondays. I bet Kathy does hate Mondays.

Marco: Kathy likes to smooch.

Amanda: I don't get that. So she says smooches to.

Marco: I think so.

Amanda: No, but I thought Kathy was like, ugh, my boss in work. I'm going to cross my eyes and go, ugh. blarg. Isn't that Kathy?

Marco: Does your sister say blarg? Is she the type of person to say blarg?

Amanda: I don't live in the same city as her, so I. I don't have a. I don't keep. Keep eyes and ears on our blarg status. So I don't know, but, you know, we should say blarg more. No, you should say when you're driving and you're feeling a little ragey instead of yelling out Italian profanities, as you might. Blarg is what I want you to start yelling out. Just a good old blarg.

Marco: Okay?

Amanda: And I want. I want it to feel like you exhaled and number signs and dollar signs and asterixes came out of your mouth.

Marco: I'll do that. If you say smooches every time you kiss a friend or foe, I'll say

Amanda: it when I Kiss a friend or foe. But I will not sign an email off with smooches. You imagine smooches?

Marco: Can you do that? Your next email to your boss signed it off with smooches.

Amanda: She probably wouldn't mind. Okay. Yeah.

Marco: So funny.

Amanda: I still. It doesn't feel in character. I'd like to think it's not in character with me.


Amanda says there's something about cartoons that makes her nauseous

what were you gonna ask me? What cartoons did I watch as a kid?

Marco: Yeah, you watched.

Amanda: I watched a ton, but I didn't like any of them. I watched Tom and Jerry. All kinds.

Marco: Oh, Tom and Jerry. I didn't like Tom and Jerry.

Amanda: No, they're awful. But I watched them, but I didn't like them. That's what was on. We couldn't dial things up.

Marco: It's true.

Amanda: We had to watch what was on, and I didn't like any of it.

Marco: what about, like, the Bugs Bunny?

Amanda: Oh, I hated all of it.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: Yeah, I really, like. There's something about it that makes me, like, sick to my stomach.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: Like, I really. It might be because I was being. Eating, like, breakfasts that were making me feel nauseous while I watched it. That's what I actually think might have happened there. But the end result is that the whole thought of it makes me nauseous. I'm sure there's any cartoon I liked. Like, something experimental, maybe.

Marco: Okay. well, I liked a lot of cartoons, folks. In case you're like, what's wrong with Amanda? I liked a ton of cartoons.

Amanda: You know what I loved, though?

Marco: What?

Amanda: Anything for kids that wasn't a cartoon. So puppets like Fraggle Rock?

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: And I'm. If you're like, oh, she's younger than I thought. No, I was pretty old to, like Fraggle Rock, but I super loved Fraggle Rock.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: Like, of all of them, that was probably my favorite.

Marco: I like the Muppets.

Amanda: I love the Muppets.

Marco: Yeah, the Muppets.

Amanda: I mean, any Jim Henson I was in. I like puppets. I like things that I can. There's something about cartoons that I can't connect to. Okay. Still to this day, like, all that bad CGI we had in, like, the early aughts. Every movie that was, like, cgi.

Marco: Sure. It's not for you?

Amanda: No, I. My brain just turns off.

Marco: I had. So while you had a Cabbage Patch

Amanda: doll, I had four.

Marco: Or.

Amanda: I like how you said it. Or cabbage branch doll. Or a,

Marco: Well, it's a glow worm. Used to squeeze it and it would.

Amanda: I never had a glow worm.

Marco: My sister had a glow worm.

Amanda: Glow Worms were expensive.

Marco: Well, she had one. I'm trying to think.

Amanda: You guys were rich.

Marco: I don't think so. I think she just got a glow worm for Christmas one year, and. And it was probably years after when. When it wasn't popular anymore or. I bet you had raggedy ends.

Amanda: And I did. Yeah, we did.

Marco: I had a Kermit doll I used to sleep with.

Amanda: My brother had a Kermit, and I. Well, guess what I used to sleep with.

Marco: a corn with two, like, eyes on it. Corn doll, you know?

Amanda: No, I slept with a Miss Piggy.

Marco: Oh, did you really?

Amanda: I had a Miss Piggy doll, and I loved her. And I would do the voice, and I'd do the hiya. And I'd, like, kick people with her little hooves.

Marco: Right.

Amanda: And I really was, like, channeling Miss Piggy, and I thought she was. And I would get, like, laughs when I, like, would make her talk.

Marco: And it all started there.

Amanda: It really did. I loved Miss Piggy. She was a woman who knew what she needed out of life.

Marco: Yeah.

Amanda: Ah, she had a lot of anger, but who doesn't, right?


I loved my Kermit doll. I still have it. And I, like, really loved my Miss Piggy

What woman in the 70s didn't have some anger?

Marco: Fair enough.

Amanda: That's how I felt with Miss Piggy. I was like, this woman knows what she wants.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: Kind of don't love that she had to be a pig. But she. She. She brought it back, and she owned her pig space, and. And, that's just what she was. I. I liked Miss Piggy.

Marco: Isn't that funny? You had that doll, and I had the doll.

Amanda: I know. That's what I'm saying. And I, like, really loved my Miss Piggy.

Marco: I loved my Kermit doll.

Amanda: I can think of the dress that I used to put her in and. And the clothes I had for her. And I did sleep with her. Yeah. And she was, like, this big.

Marco: Oh, that's big.

Amanda: It was pretty big. How big was your ke?

Marco: Maybe this big. Oh, the legs. But the legs were longer.

Amanda: Yeah, the legs were long.

Marco: I still have it. I'll show it to you.

Amanda: Yeah, I don't have Miss Piggy anymore. I wish I did. I think her eyes closed, like. I think her. She had, like, eyeshadowy eyes.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: She had, like, a plastic face, but, like, plush body.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: And her eyes would open and close, I think.

Marco: Oh. So I guess she would be able to close her eyes through the whole podcast episode without a problem.

Amanda: She probably would be able to commit to that bit. She committed to a bit.

Marco: She certainly did, Miss Piggy.


You had four Cabbage Patch dolls when you were young

Oh, my goodness. And you had four Cabbage Patch dolls.

Amanda: I did. I did. I had. The first one had a weird name. I don't remember what it was, but I didn't like the name.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: So I immediately changed it to, Molly Jill.

Marco: Okay. Good old. She was Irish.

Amanda: You're.

Marco: You're.

Amanda: I liked the name Molly. I mean, at that time, I was known as Mandy Jill. So I don't think I was thinking too outside the box with that one. Then I got a second cabbage patch, and I kept the name that she came with, which was Spring Colleen.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: I thought that was a pretty name. Spring Colleen. she had. So Molly Jill looked like me. She had, like, brown hair and, like, ponytails. Dimples. They all had dimples. I guess. Some, had one dimple, some had two. Spring Colleen had short yellow hair.

Marco: Mm.

Amanda: Then I had a baby cabbage patch. You know the baby ones?

Marco: Yeah. With the hard, plastic bald heads.

Amanda: Yeah. I can still smell it. Like, they smell like baby powder.

Marco: Oh, really?

Amanda: Yeah. I can still, like, take myself back to that, like, olfactory memory of, like, the baby powder and the little cabbage patch bomb that you'd put the diaper on.

Marco: and his didn't have a little tattoo there, too.

Amanda: Yeah. Xavier Roberts. Name was on the bums.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: What happened to him?

Marco: Eh, never even heard of this person.

Amanda: Xavier Roberts was the.

Marco: The creator.

Amanda: Yeah. And it was a whole thing of, like, they're born in the hospital of cabbage patches or whatever. I don't know. but then the baby was like, Sean something, I think.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: But I also babysit a kid named Sean, so maybe I'm conflating that. And then I thought I had another one, but maybe I only had the three. My brother had one. My sister, I think, had one, I think.

Marco: Wow.

Amanda: So, yeah, we were into the cabbage patches big time. I was like, the cabbage patch generation, for sure. Are you looking up Xavier Roberts?

Marco: I am.

Amanda: Any. Any hot findings?

Marco: not really.

Amanda: Weird look on your face.

Marco: Well, because it said net worth, but I didn't want that. I wanted to know a little bit of. There's a. There's a lot of Xavier Roberts. That's why I was trying to figure out which one.

Amanda: I wish I had a Cabbage Patch bum right now, because then I wouldn't feel the bones in my bum on this chair.

Marco: Well, you're certainly saying that a lot here on the podcast, where we don't say that. sorry. Yeah. I think he also created the first skins bear. Have you heard of that?

Amanda: Nope.

Marco: Okay. So anyways. Oh, he. He created this when he Was young. Like, he was 26, I think.

Amanda: Wow.

Marco: Millionaire doing this. Okay, well, good for them. yeah, good idea. $.

Amanda: I guess it just had a little bit of enough of a gimmick, and then the frenzy started.


Everyone loves a Slinky, including you, probably, dear listener

Remember, that was one. That was one of the first frenzied toys.

Marco: Right?

Amanda: Right.

Marco: I had Stretch Armstrong, I think I talked about on the podcast once, before you could stretch his arms and legs. I was so excited to get it at Man Died. That's all I wanted, was Stretch Armstrong. And then you stretched him, and he stretched back, and that's all they did. But the commercial made it seem like there was so much more.

Amanda: Stretch Armstrong did commercials knew what they were doing.

Marco: let's just say I got it for Christmas. And what? By. By New Year's, I was all over it. Wow, man.

Amanda: What a Lesson learned.

Marco: Lesson learned, Right? Lesson learned.

Amanda: Now, where is he now, Mr. Armstrong?

Marco: No, he's nowhere to be found. I think I overstretched him.

Amanda: I have a feeling you weren't the only kid. Remember Slinkies?

Marco: Loved Slinkies.

Amanda: Yeah, but how long would that one last before it was, like, caught in your hair and then twisted all around, and then you'd put it back, and you get your dad to put it back. But then it was like that one, like, coil that got kinked. Ye. I didn't fully go back, and it was like, here's my Slinky now. But it had, like, the one, like, the big gap in it, and you're, like, trying to do it down the stairs.

Marco: I used to, like, rotate it over my head like a. Like a helicopter blade, and it would just stretch and stretch and stretch.

Amanda: I'm sure your parents love that.

Marco: Yeah. Yeah, it's a. It's. It's an interesting toy because it's just a coil of springs of metal.

Amanda: Clearly somebody did a metal coil at their factory or something. And some kid was like, this is amazing. And somebody was like, great, I got an idea, but let's make it so that it doesn't, you know, and it

Marco: has the best name. Slinky. Like, you know, it's a great name for what it is.

Amanda: Everyone loves a Slinky.

Marco: Don't we all? Well, I'm going to end the podcast by saying Blarg. Oh, thank you for listening.

Amanda: Today, I'm going to remind you that everyone loves a Slinky, including you, probably, dear listener. And if you don't, may you go to sleep. I mean, that would be a great way to drift off just. Just thinking about each one of your toys and the love you had for them as a child. Then just like, imagine that you're taking them, giving them a little love, putting them on your bed the way you might have. That's what I used to do.

Marco: Sure. And, I hope you have a lovely rest of your night. And we hope you were able to listen and sleep.