When I get up in the morning, I like to watch the cartoons. I am a big fan of Pokemon and Duckula. After finishing breakfast, I have to brush my teeth, as I have discovered that most people don't find ou-de-muesli particularly appealing. Not to miss one scintillating moment of "Super Rodents", I got up to brush my teeth in the ads.

There I was, scrubbing away, when I heard "Shmoggleberry!.....Shmoggleberry!" coming from the TV. Now "Shmoggleberry" is not your run-of-the-mill sort of name, and I don't think its a particularly common word either, so I was both amazed and confused. I rushed out of the bathroom, still with toothbrush in hand and gob full of minty foam, to see what on earth was happening.

Being in the the "Children's Television" time slot, the stations run a lot of adverts that are for toys and other products that kids would find appealing. The ad in question, now that I could hear above the sound of my teeth-cleaning process, was "BubbleFairy Barbie..... BubbleFairy Barbie", the doll in question spins around and uses the air resistance to blow bubbles out of the bubble-blower she holds. It makes perfect sense now, but I *swear* it sounded *exactly* like "Shmoggleberry" when I was in the bathroom cleaning my teeth.

I tried out the new name on the cat, but he didn't appreciate it. I don't think he really appreciates "Shmoggleberry" that much either, but its probably slightly less embarrassing than being called a fairy. He seems to be a bit sensitive about that word ever since he came back from the vets with two of his best assets missing.

Copyright © Vicky Chapman
June 6, 1999