By: Aaron Zeng

Whether it is adults or children, a certain item sparks their interest. Squishmallows, an egg shaped plush of all different shapes, colors, and sizes, and based on various things like animals. Children and adults both love it, and the pandemic caused these plushies to boom and gain much popularity over the world and go on many stocks of various stores.

Squishmallows were designed by Sunny Cho, who is a designer at KellyToy, after she was asked to design a soft squishy toy. Slowly she came up with an egg chapped plush with an animal’s face and features on it. It was later named the Squishmallow and was on store shelves.

Squishmallows really started to gain popularity when the pandemic hit. Most of them were cheap, about 5-10 dollars for one, and children thought they were comforting and adults didn’t mind picking one up at the store due to the low price. Overtime, word of these squishmallows spread on social media, and it became more and more popular.

Adults such as Nick, a 27-year-old, also love these plushies. Some think that sewing them in a store and being able to purchase one feels like winning at a slot machine, “It’s similar to the feeling of winning at a slot machine,” Nick says. There are also collectors, with hundreds of these plushies tacked up in their room, and these people aren’t uncommon either, many on social media show off their collection and receive thousands of views.

These Squishmallows have become so widespread, that there are even backpacks and school items modeled after these plushies. In the future many expect that these Squishmallows, will become even more widespread.