【1983 Archives】

Around the holidays there983 Archivesoccasionally a "hot toy" for kids that flies off the shelves and winds up on eBay with a huge up-charge. This was the case for Furbies in my youth and more recently, Hatchimals.

In adulthood, though, these must-haves are fewer and farther between. Sure, there may be clamoring for the latest iPhone when it drops, but Apple has learned how to keep up with demand in recent years. And in the age of dystopian Amazon warehouses and click-to-buy, anyway, is any "hot item" truly limited?

Yes: Puff the Squeaky Chicken, and it’s what you imagine it is: a rubber chicken bong, complete with a squeaker that works upon inhale. The bong is made by MSCHF, the prankster group behind Jesus Shoesand the fake astrology stock app Bull & Moon.

Puff is a silicon-body bong with a glass bowl and downstem. Don’t worry, it’s not a water bong, so you don’t have to deal with gross rubber chicken bong water. The squeaker is the same used in standard squeaky chickens, and it sounds with every bong rip. But in order to use Puff effectively, you have to make out with a rubber chicken. Or give it CPR. Whichever version helps you sleep at night.

Puff costs $42.0 (get it, the weed number) — or $4.20 if you text 718-790-4881 and "prove you’re not a narc." For a 90 percent discount, it’s worth it.

The bong is real, and actually works. I can attest to that, since MSCHF sent me my own Puff to test. It was a little awkward to use — it's not exactly shaped like something you'd buy in a head shop — but I did get a consistent, solid hit. My Puff did stop squeaking (and giving an effective hit) when it got clogged, but worked again once it was cleaned out with rubbing alcohol.

The catch? There are only 1,000 of them.

You might be thinking, as I did, how Puff came to be. "A lot of people ask me, how do you come up with these ideas, and this is actually one of the best stories," Daniel Greenberg, head of commerce at MSCHF explained.

"Back in July, a few of the guys from the office went to the hardware store, bought a rubber chicken, some PVC pipe, and went back to the office. A few hours later, with the help of a carrot from the fridge, the had a smokable chicken that squeaked."

And now, as part of their second November launch, Puff is a reality — just in time for Black Friday shopping. This probably won't be your go-to smoking device, but it'll be great to break out at holiday parties.

MSCHF drops fun products bimonthly, and according to Greenberg, their December drops are worth the wait. “The first is another physical product inspired by one of the greatest memes of all time, and the second has something to do with a part of the human body,” Greenberg noted. “That is all I will say.”

If you want to know about MSCHF’s drops 24 hours before the public, Greenberg encourages you to text MSCHF at 917-746-5934.

UPDATE: Nov. 27, 2019, 9:38 a.m. EST Puff sold out around six hours after the drop, according to Greenberg.