10 Obsessions of 2010
The definition of a 2010 obsession: a person, a pop-culture phenomenon, a political party, a gadget, or a pesty plague that
spurred constant online monitoring and obsessive tangential searches.
1.iPhone
2.Lindsay Lohan
3.iPad
4.“Glee”
5.“Jersey Shore”
6.Facebook
7.Bedbugs
8.Tea Party
9.Silly Bandz
10.Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl”
The items in bold I can understand, the rest I cannot.
I am so happy that eight out of the top ten are actually worthwhile. Lindsay Lohan and Jersey Shore are clearly a waste of any worthwhile individual’s time.
Silly Bandtz, the original shaped silicone rubber bands were created in 2002 by a Japanese design team who wanted to introduce a more environmentally-sustainable rubber band as an office product. Robert Croak, owner of Toledo, Ohio-based BCP Imports known for distributing the Livestrong wristbands,encountered the bands on a business trip and decided to re-purpose them as a toy by making them larger and thicker, and marketing them as a kids’ fashion accessory. (Tweaking an already existing product rather than re-inventing the wheel) Good for you Robert! The first Silly Bandz sets were sold online in November 2008. In early 2009, Learning Express in Birmingham, Alabama became the first retail store to stock Silly Bandz. By fall they were a strong seller, and became widespread across the Southern United States. Popularity began to move up the East coast of the United States, reaching New Jersey, Long Island, and Staten Island in November the same year.
As of August 2010, Silly Bandz sells their product in 8,000 stores across the U.S and many stores in Canada carry Silly Bandz too. Quizno’s Subs currently has Silly Bandz in their kid’s meals. Seven spots on Amazon’s April 22 list of best-selling toys and games were occupied by the bracelets.
Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl” brings attention to the disgusting world of human trafficking. Shockingly, this business brings in a staggering $32 Billion per year and Thailand and Brazil are considered to have the worst child sex trafficking records.
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services estimates that New York City is home to more than 2,000 sexually exploited children under 18. At least 85 percent of these youths statewide have had some contact with the child welfare system, mostly through abuse or neglect proceedings.
Look out for my upcoming article on The Human Trafficking Trade in Asia
Maybe if we made it easier to adopt these children as infants and allowed the parents to profit from it we could begin to put a dent in this problem. Instead of women in their mid 40’s spending outrageous sums of money trying to get pregnant through IVF, perhaps they should look into adopting a child who is already alive and needs a home. (just a thought)