Toys

Roly-poly doll

Its round belly is weighted at the bottom, so every time a roly-poly gets knocked over it wobbles a few times and stands straight again. Every child who got one did exactly one thing: push it over, harder each time, to see if it would finally give up. It never did.

Only when we grew up did we notice the slightly corny lesson it had been teaching: if you fall, fall, wobble for a while, then get up. Back then it just seemed stubborn, and some kids were annoyed that it would never stay down.

Do you remember? Did you ever try to pin a roly-poly down so it would stay lying flat?

💬 Everyone's memories

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