Just curious. There are these morons selling toy helicopters out of kiosks in two of my local malls. They seem to love to fling these boomerang toy helicopters at folks, making the target flinch. Before they hit they swoop upwards, around, and back to the flinger.
The next helicopter flung in my direction will get the flinger a rolled-up Pottery Barn catalogue in some yet-to-be-determined orifice.
Haven’t been to a mall in months! Can’t think of anything I need to buy there. :eek: I say hit the damn thing, smashing it to the ground, and then say you thought it was a terrorist.
yes. drives me nuts.
Yes, and I can’t stand it, either. The planes were bad enough.
Welcome, 404 Error… great handle.
It’s been a while since I’ve been in a mall, but I have a well-developed swat instinct, so anything that buzzes within arms reach is in play…
Damn those things. Having the flingers wear the jumpsuits makes me hate them more.
Well, luckily those morons aren’t in MY mall, but they are in the mall near where I go to school. They annoy the Hell out of. Actually, most kiosk salespeople annoy the Hell out of me, so it fits in with the norm.
Wow, that would really piss me off if I ever saw something like that happen. All the flingers I have ever seen have always made an attempt to avoid flinging near people, which pretty much limits them to near vertical flinging. Why not have a chat with the mall security office or the kiosk manager? I’ll bet that flinger would learn some politeness or learn about the joys of being let go.
Are we talking about the plastic helicopters that are launched by a fishreel-spring launcher, or some new-fangled stuff that gets thrown at people?
Haven’t seen the latter, but I was wondering how folks who fly the former get the helicopters to return to them so accurately. Bought one a while ago and spent most of my time chasing the darn thing; I suspect the mall demos stick fishing weights inside them…
Helicopters, airplanes, cloth boomerangs, kooshballs on a bungee, and juggling sticks… I hate them all.
If it gets too near me, I do a “King Kong” on it. The vendors now know to change their flight patterns when I get near…
Didn’t get all that good a look at them, but my impression was that they had sort of a pull chord. Sort of like those old Evel Keneval Super Stunt Cycles.
Probably a lot less likely to land me an assult charge than my Pottery Barn Catalogue idea I suppose. Can’t help but think that getting fired was a healthy part of these kid’s attitude. All in all just another reason I don’t like to go to malls.
When I see those guys wearing the flight suits I remind myself how fortunate I am to have gainful, full-time employment.
What kills me is the way the guys will shoot the thing up in the air, then look around to see if you’re watching, and everyone near by turns their head as quickly as possible to avoid eye contact.
And is it just me or are there entirely too many cell phone kiosks in malls now? The one I go to has seven of them, not including the little display Radio Shack has. Enough is enough!
Nah. Just make sure your first stop at the mall is to purchase a tennis racket. Keep it unwrapped. Work on your forehand as you walk past.
Someone once tried that to me. I just grabbed it and held it in my hand. It was like a dying insect- Feebly trying to rotate the propellers in order to escape. And they couldn’t ask me to let go, because it was their fault it had gotten so close to begin with. 
Loads too many. My mom and I went to our local mall a few weeks ago, mostly because she wanted to get a cell phone. Top floor, three cell phone kiosks. Within sight of one another, as this isn’t a huge mall. Downstairs is the cell phone cover kiosk.
Kiosk workers scare me. They glare at me whenever I walk by. At least workers in the stores smile at me as they watch me walk around.
jessica
Okay, the helicopters, etc. I really hate, but I have to admit I miss the Kay-Bee managers playing with the remote control cars in the mall.
One time when I was in the store, there was a family with a kid just getting the hang of walking, so the manager fired up one of the “monster trucks” and started zipping it around in front of the store, letting the kid chase it, slowing it down til the kid caught up, then taking off again. Minutes of fun.
They have the little flying helicopter kiosks at the local mall here, too. Since it’s a two-story mall, however, the helicopters are always launched upwards, so it’s not annoying at all. And the vendors don’t try to pester you into buying one.
The kiosk venders that really irritate me are the ones pitching the latest lotion/cosmetic products. They come right up to you and–
squirt
“Try some lotion!”
It’s scary.