Photo Courtesy of senior Nayah Holmes.
San Luis Obispo High School students have been captivated by TikTok and now most recently Squishmallows.
Squishmallows are super soft plush toys that many TikTokers are collecting, causing the more popular ones to become rare. These squishmallows come in four different sizes ranging from key chains to sixteen-inch plushies, and normally cost three dollars to around thirty, but now, some rare ones can sell for upwards of the hundreds.
“I think squishmallows got so popular because they’re extremely comfy to cuddle with and as more people are home now it’s so fun to just cuddle in your bed with 20 or so of them,” said senior Quinn Williams.
Kelly Toys, the maker of these plushies, recently filled us all in on what they are made of, which is a polyester fiber with no toxic chemicals, they also point out that they are flame retardant.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, many things changed, and peoples interests changed as well. For people who once loved to go out, now rather watch Netflix with their newest Squishmallow. For Kelly Toys, in just two years they have sold 50 million Squishmallows, a large majority of that is because of TikTok and COVID-19.
What makes these so desirable is the quirky and always changing designs, it’s hard to deny how cute they are. But, for how popular they seem to be some people still have no clue as to what they are.
“They sound like something that is small and squishy, kinda like a marshmallow. Is it one of those things that are kinda like a stress ball but like not? said senior Emma Kawaoka.
Kawoka mentioned the idea that they sound like a stress reliever, and this is a valid point that has gained the attention of many stressed teenagers. These squishmallows offer the perfect squeeze and comfort when teenegaers struggle with simply being a teenager. They are always there with their plastered smiles and plump bodies waiting for a love barren teenager to give them a hug.
To an untrained eye these may seem just like another useless plushy but they stand for so much more. These Squishmallows are inclusive and waiting for love from anyone.
“Squishmallows pop up about 25 times a day on my fyp(for you page on tiktok) because I like and comment to see more,” said Williams, and that truly shows the desire these plushies hold.
