Wild and wooly

"Your mind is a magnet. 

You don't attract what you need or what you want; 

you attract who you are. 

And I love who I am!" 

-- Carlos Santana

Self portrait as "Wooly Willy" 10-5-13

Self portrait as "Wooly Willy" (2) 10-5-13

Since its invention in 1955, kids have been entertained for generations by dragging metal filings around with a magnetic "magic wand," creating hair, beards, mustaches and eyebrows on "Wooly Willy's"  face.

There is now a "Wooly Willy" iPhone app, which, to me, is terribly disappointing.

It defeats the purpose.

The true satisfaction of playing with this toy is the crazy way the filings grab onto the magnet, how they follow behind in a ragged clump until you release them by pulling the magnet away.

Bonus: kids get to learn about magnetic pull by watching it, by doing it, by seeing it with their own eyes, not "virtually" on a phone screen.

Is nothing sacred?

Call me old fashioned, or a fuddy-duddy, or just a grump, but how are kids going to learn about magnetic anything on a damn phone?

Join me in supporting old-school lessons about magnets by purchasing an original "Wooly Willy" toy today! Buy a 4-pack of the party favor sized ones and keep one for yourself, then hand out the extras to little kids and watch them light up.

Warning: If you approach a child and ask if he/she would like to see your "Wooly Willy," you might get arrested. So please approach with caution and good judgment, and euphemisms. Call it a "toy" or a "game."

Just sayin'.