Open Post: Hosted By The “Safe Hug” Inflatable Costumes That Are Selling Out

May 25, 2020 / Posted by:

These are bleak times for many, but not everyone, like those in the inflatable costume game. Because of social distancing and the fear of killing our elderly by hugging them, there’s been a major spike in sales of inflatable Hippo Ballerina and T-Rex costumes. Yes, inflatable costumes meant to entertain and delight children whose spatial memory hasn’t yet fully developed are now hot-ticket items. Why? Well, maybe because people think you can hug someone while wearing one and not catch coronavirus.

Videos have gone viral of people coming up with new and creative ways to experience physical intimacy while also not spreading the highly-contagious coronavirus. In one video, a woman donned a Hippo Ballerina costume to give her mom, who lives in a senior living facility, a hug. TMZ said the staff at the nursing home reportedly came up with the idea to use “sterilized suits” so that people could hug when they visited their family.

This is part of a bigger theme. HalloweenCostumes.com has apparently seen a huge increase of inflatable costume sales too. TMZ heard that the company sold 75 Hippo Ballerina inflatable costumes last year, and this year they already sold 450 so far. And they doubled the price to $120 because price-gouging in a pandemic applies to toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and inflatable costumes. Their inflatable T-Rex costume is also out of stock. The owner of the site, Tom Fallenstein, said that only 20 dino costumes were sold in 2019 and this year they’ve already sold 600.

Hugging a giant T-Rex while not fucked-up on acid sounds like a nightmare to me, but you gotta do what you gotta do. And now I may or may not run off to YouTube to look up “DIY: How to cut sex holes in your inflatable T-Rex costume for safe Grindr hookups.”

Pic: YouTube

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