And The Winner In The I-Can't-Believe-Someone-Invented-This Category Is...

The boyfriend pillow. Because when you only need half a man (or more accurately, half of his torso and an arm), it's all you really need.

(Probably to no one's surprise, this little piece of money-making genius seems to have originated in Japan.)

I showed the boyfriend pillow to a co-worker just now, who offered her expert female opinion that it is "creepy." She also pointed out that one could just put a sweatshirt over a regular pillow and stuff the arms, and you'd get essentially the same result.

You'd also save yourself a cool $15.00, folks. (Shh, don't tell the Japanese--especially since their pillow cost the equivalent of $80 USD.)

And now, look here. I am trying very, very hard to be good and not blog, but what on earth do you expect me to do if you send me links to things like this? I am only a human girl, after all--a human girl who gained the nickname (independently, in two entirely unrelated places of employment) of "peanut gallery," due no doubt to her loquacious charm and witty observances of life around her (i.e., due to her congenital inability to keep her mouth shut when she has an opinion about anything).

In other words, you have discovered my Achilles' heel: there is almost no way I can pass up something like this without commentary.

Oh, and without giving an award. Because I'm generous like that.

Speaking of awards and my generosity, I'm going to give this one the additional distinction of the I-Can't-Believe-Someone-Would-Buy-This-and-if-Someone-Does-I-Don't-Want-
to-Know-Because-I-Will-Feel-Too-Sorry-For-Them-And-Get-Depressed Award. I mean, let's face it, are you really going to feel better about your singleness with a "man" who has no head, no legs, one arm, and half a chest that you actually had to pay $15.00 for when you could have just saved the cash, put a sweatshirt over a pillow you already own, and had at least one extra arm and a whole, entire chest to snuggle up with?

I would say no, but maybe that's just me.

NB: Alright, back into hiding I go as I continue to work on my applications. In the meantime, many thanks to LadyD and LS for the links that made this post possible. Now that I know about the existence of this most, shall we say, intriguing invention, I can die happy. Or at least laughing really hard.