We’ve blogged about chocolate hippos before but here’s an offer for all you hippo enthusiasts who live in the states. Baker Candies of Ohio has partnered with David Spotts to create chocolate hippos for Christmas. They are seven ounces of pure milk chocolate in the form of a hippo. And the best part is that a portion of the proceeds go to charity: the Cleveland Food Bank Harvest for Hunger Campaign and the Kilimanjaro Climb for a Cure, a pediatric brain cancer and tumor program.
David saw his mother on an episode of Dr. Phil where she confessed her dislike of the Christmas hustle and bustle. (Well, who doesn’t?) Her disclosure shocked him. (Really?) David wanted to help his mother get through the horrible Christmas season where everyone is supposed to be filled with cheer but in reality we are all just walking around freaking out about spending all this money that we don’t have on useless presents that we don’t need. (Oh, wait a minute, that’s me.) He thought that if his mother had a project to work on, it would distract her enough so that she wouldn’t even notice that radio stations and stores start playing Christmas music in mid-November and set up holiday displays even before Halloween. (Is this even possible?) So he decided to use her LEAST favorite Christmas song, “I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas” and pair it up with chocolate and hippos to create a fundraising item just for the holidays. Thus, chocolate hippos were born.
Now, let me just say a few things here. First, what a son! I really appreciate his dedication to and concern for his mother. However, did he ever think that – just perhaps – choosing her LEAST favorite song might not be the best choice? That would kind of be like me choosing an Ozzy Osbourne song for my mother, along with, say, an aardvark, or maybe a sloth. Maybe he was really thinking of MY mother, whose absolute favorite song in the whole entire world is “I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas” and who can put away chocolate faster than a hippo can swivel his tail. (By the way, if you haven’t heard this song, check it out here.)
Anyway, kudos to David and his mother for rising above their anti-Christmas image and providing the world with more hippos. We here at Hippo Mojo have long known that’s what’s needed to make the world a better place. And if the hippos in question just happen to be chocolate? Well, okey dokey, so much the better! Now, I’m off to go buy myself some chocolate hippos.
Anamalz are here!!! We’ve waited a long time to get them but they are finally here! What’s an Anamalz, you say? See below, my hip hippo friend. See below.
Wooden Hippo Toy by Anamalz
Aren’t they just the cutest? And they move their little legs so you can pose them different ways. They are environmentally friendly, made of sustainable maple, and hand made and hand painted with natural water based paint. They’re awesome!
I even love the Anamalz website. It’s done in Flash so you’ll need a Flash player to see it but you probably have that installed already, don’t you? To see the hippo animation, go to the “anamalz saving animals” tab at the top and you’ll see a happy hippo surfing down a river. Absolutely super cute. And I really dig the music.
I’m not really into tattoos. I don’t have one and I don’t plan on getting one. Why, I don’t know. Probably fear of pain. Also, I have lots of freckles and I feel like I don’t need any more body decor. My skin is already busy enough. But I am fascinated with people who get tattoos. How do they choose a design? Where should it go on the body? Do they ever get sick of it and want it removed? So it was with some interest that I read a recent blog post over at Martlet.ca, an independent weekly student newspaper at the University of Victoria in Canada. Student Will Johnson writes about his hippo tattoo in a post entitled, “Taking the tattoo plunge: an adventure.” Apparently Will is a huge hippo fan and even suspects that he may have been a hippo in a previous life. He identifies with the hippo so much that he had a giant one tattooed on his back. Read his article here.
To see more hippos tattoo designs, click on the links below:
“A herd of hippos from Lake Kakyera in Rakai district has invaded three villages in Kakyera Sub County Rakai district destroying local people’s gardens valued in millions of shillings. Lake Kakyera is situated in Lake Mburo National Park.
John Magara, the district councilor representing Kakyera Sub County identifies the affected areas as Kabumba cell in Lwanga parish, Mukogote and Buyozwa villages in Lyakishana parish.
Magara notes that the hippos attacked the sub county over the weekend.
This comes less than two months after the same sub county was hit by drought that left some local people’s gardens and farms scotched.
Now, Magara wants the Uganda Wildlife Authority to make sure they lay strategies that will prevent hippos from invading people’s gardens again.
However, Lillian Nsubuga, the spokesperson for Uganda Wild Life Authority wants the local people around Lake Mburo National Park to work with the UWA’s community conservation department to prevent wild animals from attacking them.
She says if the two work together, they could implement strategies like digging trenches to protect the animals from crossing into people’s gardens.”
A September report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture finds the Topeka Zoo faulty of poor veterinary care and spotty record keeping after the death of several animals over the past two years including a hippo who suffered a fatal seizure at least partially due to overly hot (108 degrees) water in its pool. A separate report by veterinarians at Kansas State University called the hot water a “significant factor” in the 53-year-old hippo’s death.
Zoo officials have taken steps to implement new policies for record-keeping and animal care. The zoo has suffered multiple losses including a black leopard, a Pallas cat, a rabbit, an antelope, a mouse deer and three bats. Some of the animals were found to be severely infested with maggots.
Recently a hippo bolted from Nairobi National Park in Kenya and took off for city life. But the citizens called Kenya Wildlife Services sent him packing back to his watery home. Drugging a hippo can be difficult as they are sensitive to the drug used to knock them out, sometimes resulting in death. In this case the procedure was a success. Watch the video below for details.
While most of the country celebrates Halloween during the month of October, we here at Hippo Mojo march to the beat of our own drummer. Or to the sound of pounding hippo feet across the savanna. Whichever image gets you going. And this month we are hearing a herd of hippos thundering towards us. But not just any hippos, these are stuffed and plush hippos! (Okay, so maybe they don’t really make that much noise – work with me here, people.)
Where are these hippos headed? Why, to your house, of course! How do I know this? Because they are on sale, my little hippophile friends. And no one can resist a sale…
Shop two categories of soft, cuddly hippopotami at Hippo Mojo: “For Children” and “Plush Animals” for savings of 15% off. Anything you can hold and cuddle is on sale now! Get a head start on your holiday shopping or use this sale as an excuse to build up your hippo collection. Come on, we know you need one of every type of hippo product out there! The sale will last through the end of October, ending on Halloween night, when all those little softies shed their sale costumes and turn back into their regularly-priced selves.
Here is a sampler of the little cuties we have available:
Henri Hippo is custom made for Hippo Mojo by Nosey Nest, a Netherlands dollmaker. He is completely hand made in a limited quantity of 6, especially available for Hippo Mojo customers.
This Zoobie is a favorite for children with its cuddly blanket and pillow inside the body of the hippo. Every child and collector needs one of these! On sale now for $28.90, a savings of 15% off retail price.
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