UPDATE:
In case you were wondering, yes, we did buy more Hello, Kitty cards.
Hello, Kitty Michigan looks like Rosie the Riveter. And yes, Hello, Kitty Nevada is a showgirl. Or possibly a peacock, as Dorothy guessed.
UAW take note: here is a new way to popularize unions with the youth of America.
MOM! Are peacocks from Nevada?
Original post:
Let’s say, hypothetically, speaking, that you have had a relatively successful day out with your three daughters. They petted the bunny gently at the greenhouse, nobody cried when you said there wasn’t time to see the chickens, they played well with others at the indoor playgym while you drank a latte, they chose a fantastic Father’s Day gift for their dad, and now you find yourself in the collectible card aisle, trying to figure out if it matters if you buy your nephew series 1 or series 2Topps baseball cards for his birthday. If your well-behaved daughters appeared at your side clutching $1.99 packages of Hello, Kitty collectible cards, you might find yourself saying “Sure, why not?”
And then you would find yourself at home with these gems:
From the back of the Nebraska card:
“Kay Orr defeated Helen Boosalis for governor in 1986, the first race for a US governorship in which both major party candidates were women.
Kearney is located exactly 1,733 miles from both Boston, MA and San Francisco, CA
The state flower is the goldenrod.”
Each card has a sticker of the state flower and Hello, Kitty dressed in some kind of representative costume. The back of the card has some state trivia: the name of the flower, and then some history, geography, or culture facts.
And each package has a teensy tiny Hello, Kitty figure:
Pilgrim, meet cowgirl.
Lucy just wanted to stick the flower stickers on her face. But Dorothy was completely fascinated by the costumes.And because she’s just 5, she has no frame of reference for any of the historical or cultural references. Which meant every card was a lengthy conversation about why exactly Hello, Kitty was wearing that outfit, and whether or not D would, herself, want to wear those clothes.
“Why is she wearing that hat?”
“What’s a pilgrim?”
“What’s England?”
“Why didn’t they like the rules? What were the rules?”
“Were those all the rules for kids?”
“So there are rules for grown ups too?!?!”
“I like her hat.”
Most of the costumes/props are straightforward, like the Nebraska pitchfork, though I was surprised to see Hello, Kitty in both women’s and men’s clothing.
New York: Statue of Liberty
Oklahoma: pioneer. (State flower: mistletoe. Weird.)
- Tennessee: Davy Crocket.
Oregon: beaver.
(Also, did you know that Oregon and New Jersey both ban self serve gas stations? Thanks Hello, Kitty! I’ve been shouted at for getting out of my car at a gas station in New Jersey, but I won’t make that mistake in Oregon!)
The highlight, though, is Hello, Kitty’s visit to New Jersey:
Because what’s cuter then a gangster Hello, Kitty eating cotton candy?
Pinstripes, fedora, popcorn on the boardwalk. You know, in case you hadn’t had enough fun discussing pilgrims, pioneers, coonskin caps, Davy Crocket, and beavers.
I suppose it’s better than a Snooki or J WOWW costume? Although I feel like Hello, Kitty could give Sammi a run for her money as the “sweetest bitch you’ll ever meet.”
Also: MOM I LOVE THESE HELLO, KITTY CARDS CAN WE PLEASE GET MORE AT THE STORE BECAUSE I WANT TO HAVE THEM ALL!
Yes: mistletoe! It grows abundantly in Oklahoma. It’s actually a fungus that grows at the top of trees in winter, so there are big balls of green in the brown trees. We used to clip it when we could find some low enough. True facts!! I love these cards!
I’m totally going to keep buying them. Really, they had me with the trivia about the first governor race between 2 women. And the ridiculous costumes are just icing on the cake.
Also, I was really relieved that the Oklahoma HK wasn’t in a Cherokee costume.
Yes, I am pretty pleased with the tone and non-sexist/racist bent to these. I spy some stocking stuffers!!