What ARE those?!!!

I brought some little brown things home from the dollar store.  Three hard brown shells in each small plastic box, clicking away.  They made me smile when I saw them there in the toy aisle and again as I heard them clicking inside the bags from the store.  ..

Fast forward a few hours later when our technologically savvy sons were home.  

I gave one box to Jeremy and told him to keep it on his windowsill.

I put the remaining two boxes on the table in front of Michael and told him that he could choose one.

The little brown things started clicking and popping around after just a short while.

Michael declared "What IS that!?"  and "I don't want one.  It scares me!"  :)

Jeremy came down and said "How long will they keep popping around?  Will the batteries run out?"  and "Is it like when you leave the mouse in one place too long on your screensaver?  It just starts moving when it sits for too long?"

I said it wasn't anything electronic.

Michael posted a video on Instagram (or something like that).  His friends "who know more about magic than I do" didn't know what to think either.

I told them that I'd had one of these when I was a kid, and I thought they might like one.

Hmm.....they were a bit "creeped out".

It's Mexican Jumping Beans!  Three in a keepsake box for just a dollar at Dollar Tree (or whichever dollar store is in Crystal Lake).  

I do remember always wanting to see one when I was a kid.  At some point, I got one, probably in a little clear plastic box like these are.  It was sad when it stopped popping and I realized that the worm inside was dead.

I put the clicking beans back on the kitchen table after finding that Michael had tossed them onto the counter.  He came through, got upset, and said "Don't put these on the table!!!  They're freaky!"

It was totally worth it to spend $3 just to get the reaction from the modern-era kids in our house.

So there the little beans sit on the kitchen counter as I type, happily clicking away in their little boxes.  

Harmless little brown beans, freaking people out because of a simple but unexpected jump and a click.  

No magic, no electronics, just a natural and (I guess) creepy phenomenon.  

Maybe I should give them out on Halloween, more "trick" than treat.  :)

 

Laura
http://dykstrasfarm.blogspot.com/