Do you remember when you were a child and you absolutely loved your stuffed animal? It seemed like it was your best friend in the whole world and you were rarely ever seen without it. For most of us, it was our first friend and we were even able to name it, so it was even more personal. Apparently, some people have a difficulty giving up that first love and now, they have fallen in love all over again with a plushy that comes from a rather unusual source.
I’d like you to meet this soft toy shark from IKEA. His name is Blåhaj and since he was introduced, millions of people have purchased him from that Swedish furniture store. Although the shark was removed at one point, they quickly brought him back when fans began petitioning for him to be seen in the stores once again. Now that he is back, he is also showing up online in social media posts and some have even created Instagram pages for their new friend.
Nobody is really sure why this plushy is so popular, but the one meter long shark must have some type of charismatic charm. IKEA posted the following product description:
“Big and safe to have at your side if you want to discover the world underneath the sea. The blue shark can swim very far, dive really deep and hear your heart beating from far away.”
He seems to be the friend we all need:
There is even fan art for this stuffed toy shark: