CHINESE GO CRAZY OVER MASCOT DOLLS
I don’t care much for mascots beyond the dancing tree at Stanford, which is just bizarre enough to hold my attention for more than a second.
But you knew they would be in Beijing just as sure as questions about air quality and whether Kobe Bryant could walk 5 feet without getting mobbed (he can’t).
The official Olympic mascots are five Fuwa dolls to signify the Games’ rings; they also embody the characteristics of the Olympic flame and four of China’s most popular animals — the fish, panda, antelope and swallow.
The colorful dolls are said to carry a message of peace and friendship and good wishes, at least to anyone who hasn’t Googled the phrases “Tibet protest” or “human rights violations” since arriving.
It’s as if Olympic officials bought 10,000 or so of the costumes and placed the little mascot buggers all around the city. They are introduced at venues and the Chinese go crazy. I’m telling you — this can be a weird place.
Each doll symbolizes a different blessing, from harvest to happiness to passion to health to good fortune.
The five names: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini.
My name for them: Dumbdumb.
