How to Find a Parody of Your Kid’s Missing Stuffed Animal
“Please help me find a replacement for my lost ‘best friend’,” a man known as piper2010cameron wrote in an online post. “I’ve looked everywhere.” Lost Companion Description: A tiny stuffed tiger with orange and black stripes, a small triangular nose, and a fluffy white belly. And then came the heartbreaking phrase: “My poor child asks why” Itsi Bitsy “did not come home, and it is killing me.”
One of the kindest corners of the Internet is home to the HelpMeFind subreddit . There, editors turn to help finding everything from a brand of Russian chocolate bar to the name of an artist who draws comics on napkins to the place where this delightfully strange hedgehog bumper sticker is sold . A significant part of the posters are parents, especially moms and dads of young children who have lost their beloved plush toy or “loved ones”. There have been requests for help finding duplicate alpacas with a polka-dot bandana forgotten in a hotel room, a monkey abandoned in karate lessons, and a duck belonging to a child awaiting a transplant. Sometimes the parents never paid attention to the brand or tag. On other occasions, they went online to buy a copy, only to find out that the product was no longer for sale. In a final act of despair, they turn to their editing colleagues who are scouring the Internet for a match.
“Is there any of these options for a suitable style / shape?” someone asked, answering a poster that was looking for a replacement for their daughter’s beloved soft owl, given by their grandmother.
“You are a lifeguard!” the parent wrote. “Thanks a lot! She will love it!”
Unfortunately, not every lost friend is found. The search for Itsi Bitsi and many other beloved friends is still ongoing. If you happen to spot them on the Internet, go on a subreddit and make your child happy, and his parents will be very, very happy.
Here are some tips on how to find an exact replica of your lost lover:
- Try doing a reverse image search on Google. In the Google Images search bar, click the camera icon and upload the image or paste the URL. As the administrators of HelpMeFind point out, this can be very useful for identifying the source of a random image that you might have at your fingertips, or even an object in an image.
- If you know the name of the manufacturer, contact him. We did this when we had an unexpected washing machine incident and needed to find a replacement for Bunny, my daughter’s sleeping friend. The company no longer sold the product online, but my husband emailed them our dilemma. A kind employee accidentally found an extra item in his warehouse and sent it to us for free! Bunny is back! This is customer support.
- Make a duplicate. There are Etsy stores where you can make an exact replica of your lost or over-loved plush toys. However, be aware that such projects are not cheap.
- Attach the reward to your HelpMeFind message. This can give readers an extra incentive. For example, this poster offers a whopping $ 100 to anyone who can find a replica of the gray stuffed elephant they originally bought from the Safeway grocery store.
- Try other online resources. Plush Memories Lost Toy Search Service is a Facebook group dedicated to finding favorite toys for kids and adults. LostMyLovey.com calls itself an “online lost toy store for kids.”
- Next time, pin the thing. Really. Putting a tile tracker into one stuffed animal that your child considers indispensable, like this mom did , might not be the craziest idea. It might just save your child from future heartache.