2020's hottest new toy is a trash fire that captures the spirit of this 'Dumpster year'
Joshua Bote
This year's hottest new toy is a Dumpster fire. Really.
A Dumpster fire toy sold by Los Angeles-based small business owner Amir Fakharian is among one of the many tchotchkes being sold on Etsy that sums up this horrific year. (It also comes in ornament form, just in time for the holidays.)
The toy even comes in an LED light form, to emphasize the flames.
Fakharian, who runs the Etsy store RexRoi3D with his wife, was making PPE at the beginning of the pandemic.
But he told USA TODAY that "due to the high amount of competition and (constant) change of the market, we had to try to innovate constantly."
When orders started drying up, he pivoted again — this time, to toys that are emblematic of this garbage fire year. His pivot seems to have stuck, for now.
"We still cannot believe after the Dumpster year that we all had, we finally got lucky," he told USA TODAY.
The other 3D printed items in his shop include cookie cutters, necklaces featuring the Empire State Building, and a bust of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
But, by far, the best-selling items in his store are those that send up 2020. In addition to the Dumpster fire toy, which has since sold out, and the ornament, he also sells toilet paper and toilet ornaments with 2020 printed on them.
Fakharian said that he thought a toy symbolizing this garbage year could "make people laugh about the year they had."
It's so popular, in fact, that his company has focused production on Dumpster fire-related products.
"We had to stop making most of our other products to keep up with the demand," he said. "The last 48 hours have been a ride for my wife and me."
If a toy is not quite your speed, perhaps a mug, a candle holder or a face mask from other sellers will temper the flames of the absolute trash fire that was this year.
Follow Joshua Bote on Twitter: @joshua_bote.
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