Friday, October 15, 2010

Ordinary Stuff - Scary Lookin' Kids' Rides

Scary looking kids' ride, Chengdu

One universal wellspring of surrealism is childhood, or more specifically, our often ambiguous adult views of childhood. There's a strange disconnect between our sentimental view of childhood as a time of safety and innocence, and the half-remembered feeling that we were ourselves once quite tiny beings with very little control over the strange world around us.

Scary looking kids' rides, Hongguang Two coin-op kids rides featuring sheep, Chengdu

So it's nice to know that even here in China, on the other side of the world from my home, you can still find coin-op kiddie rides that are a) not only slightly creepy looking, but also b) play incredibly tinny annoying sing-song music!

Up and down, Xipu, Sichuan

"Mommy? Why's that duck looking at me like that? Mom...? Mommy...?"

Coin-operated kiddie rides, featuring Pikachu and a two-headed dog, Chengdu

"Hey, son, I've got to go into the liquor store for a sec. Would you like me to sit you down on the smiling pointy-eared demon, or the two-headed dog?"

(Don't worry - China also has a large supply of cute fluffy kittens and baby ducklings to make you feel good again.)

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