A while back, I came across the term “house hippo” in a few online stores, which sparked my curiosity.
The origin story of house hippos goes back 1999, to a Canadian group, the Concerned Children’s Advertisers. They created a legendary fake public service announcement about pesky tiny hippos that roamed houses at night. The point of the PSA was to raise awareness about media literacy, reminding people to be savvy consumers of television. The ad was rebooted in 2019 by Media Smarts, another Canadian media literacy group. This time the focus is on critical thinking in the age of social media and fake news.
The original short film taught lots of children and adults not to believe everything you see on TV, In a humorous twist, households wanted to have their very own house hippo to be a reminder and a decorative item. The hippo fad is still active years later.
So I would like to share with you some of my favorite house hippos…
Vintage Hippo Kitchen Set
These Hippos help in the kitchen as a juicer, spoon rest and salt and pepper shakers. Made by one of my favorite Japanese companies UCTCI and are available on StealthBeautyGifting on Etsy for $89.95
Bennington Pottery Hippo Bank
This hippo bank was designed by David Gil for the famous Bennington Pottery in Vermont. It can take pride of place and your spare change anywhere in your home. It is offered by ArtloversFinds on Etsy for $175
Smorgon Plastic Hippo Toy
Here is a child-friendly Soviet made house hippo made from bright yellow plastic. It was designed by a well known Soviet sculptor, artist and toy maker, Leo Smorgon. You can hide it around the house for little eyes to see. I just love that it’s mouth opens! For $58.01, you can get this Etsy cutie in the shop named LivNordic.
So will your house be enhanced by a house hippo? Hope so!
