Archie McPhee Gives Weirdness a Good Name
You may not think you need a yodeling pickle, a Jane Austen action figure or a handheld catapult that shoots tiny ninjas across the room, but Archie McPhee knows you do. For that matter, you've probably gone your entire life unaware of a void in yourself that can only be filled by bacon-flavored dental floss, the world's largest champagne glass or a spy pen with invisible ink at one end and an ultraviolet flashlight at the other. You do need these things, and Archie McPhee has them.
To call Archie McPhee a toy or novelty store is to sell short novelty itself. The items you'll find at this Seattle institution go far beyond simple novelties (though you will find some classic novelty items here, like rubber chickens and dashboard hula girls). Locals and tourists alike come to McPhee to purchase the unexpected and inexplicable: inflatable toast, lollipops shaped like Marie Antoinette or rubber duckies with devil horns.
The price of all this good-natured lunacy is low. Archie McPhee's merchandise is priced to move; some items sell for as little as a dime. The real danger of shopping here isn't spending too much, but not having enough arms to carry out your swag.
That said, you can have a great time at Archie McPhee without buying anything at all. You can marvel at the world's largest underpants, get your fortune told by the salty Captain Archie, stare amazed into the nickel-operated glow-in-the-dark chamber and chat with Motog, the tiki god. You can try on costume items, look askance at the giant devil head and sit in chairs shaped like giant hands. Photography is permitted, even encouraged.
Posted by Geoff Carter
