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The Magic Garden

120707magicgarden.jpgVery kitschy, and very fun. The Magic Garden: "In hours it's fully grown - it's magic!" We had one of these years ago, and while we recall some of the pink blossoms being a little bit lacklustre after adding the "magic liquid," it was a fun experience nonetheless. Like any kid concept turned amusing focal point for adults (hello paint-by-numbers trends, etc...), we think this would make a great white elephant gift or stocking stuffer.

 
 

120707magic_garden2.jpgThe magic garden is available from the Curiosity Shoppe online for $6, but we found ours in Chicago's Chinatown (don't remember the price!).

We also found it at Grand Illusions Ltd for $8.38 - with a promise that your magic garden will be complete in 10 hours. Has anyone else gotten sucked into this Chia pet-esque activity before?

Happy gardening!

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Comments (9)

Where's Sherlock?

posted by Rog on 2007-12-07 16:58:02
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The second video on this page makes excellent use of time-lapse photography on a Magic Garden (and it's great music, too):
http://www.erinlang.com/video.html

posted by Anna at D16 on 2007-12-07 17:00:21
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ooh! thanks Anna at D16.

posted by heather on 2007-12-07 17:16:49
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These are the same gag as the Magic Christmas Tree http://www.stupid.com/stat/MGCT.html . I grew one of them a couple of years ago. They're neat, though you're right, they never look like the picture on the box.

And, of course, you always wonder what the heck it is that's actually growing and whether you'll be having radiation treatments a few years down the road because of it.

posted by Mike Doyle on 2007-12-07 19:03:24
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Where's Sherlock? Good question. Do Chicagoans get the reference? I'm originally from back east, and Sherlock was a squirrel character on a live-action east-coast kids show called The Magic Garden in the 1970s http://www.caroleandpaula.com/themagicgarden.html .

Hippie chicks Carol and Paula would sing songs, tell jokes, and hang out with hand puppets. It seems to have only been a New York City local show (channel 11, as I recall). Three words, even back then: huge cult following.

posted by Mike Doyle on 2007-12-07 19:55:01
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You know those small rubber looking objects, like animals or 'body parts' (nose, ear etc) that grow when you put them in water. I gave my ex a tiny brain once, he put it in a jar with water and it became huge. It actually looked like the real thing! Like a brain on formaldehyde, quite interesting. Unfortunately, it didn't stay that way and kept growing and growing until it became a formless blob and really gross looking.

posted by Princess Judy on 2007-12-08 03:32:14
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We did something like this in girl scouts. We did it with brick pieces, ammonia, salt, landry blueing, and food coloring. They're just salt crystals, nothing too harmful.

posted by J. Cipa on 2007-12-09 18:44:32
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Mike, are you talking New Zoo Revue??

posted by Sleek on 2007-12-10 11:12:43
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No. New Zoo Revue was on at the crack of dawn. That was with Doug and Emmy Jo. Every day's a different show. :-)

posted by Mike Doyle on 2007-12-10 14:33:45
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