# The coolest product I've seen for sale in a while **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 19, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217 "2010-11-19T14:13:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/21 "2010-11-19T16:00:30Z")
I’ve already got a Black Canary nightlight. It’s in the shape of a hot blonde in fishnet stockings. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/22 "2010-11-19T16:06:40Z")
> [@](#): > > “With a purple umbrella and a fifty cent hat, > Livin’, lovin’, she’s just a woman. > Missus cool rides out in her aged Cadillac. > Livin’, lovin’, she’s just a woman.” eeeeee ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/23 "2010-11-19T16:08:03Z")
> [@descamisado](#): > > eeeeee Exactly, my friend. Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/24 "2010-11-19T16:19:35Z")
I would have guessed that the _song_ is a reference to the _thing_, not the other way round. But it turns out that the song is twenty years old, while this particular night light is a recent creation, from someone who specifically wanted a blue canary and couldn’t find one. And apparently there are enough such people, inspired by the song, that he’s contracted the manufacture to China and has a [site](http://bluecanarynightlight.com/) selling _nothing but_. I’d heard of TMBG twenty years ago, but whatever I heard then made little impression. So, I ask–what in the world makes this song and idea so attractive? I listened to the song in two versions. There’s a little cleverness in the lyric, which I find not well served by the vocal. Nothing particularly interesting going on instrumentally. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/25 "2010-11-19T16:39:28Z")
So, has anyone found a source for pictures of lighthouses, to place opposite the blue canary? There’s a picture opposite me, of my primitive ancestry, which stood on rocky shores and kept the beaches shipwreck-free… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/26 "2010-11-19T17:06:22Z")
Though I respect that a lot, I’d be fired if that was my job, for killing Jason off and countless screaming Argonauts. Me, I always thought that the lyrics were “Lou Canary”, i.e., that the nightlight was named Lou. I mean, hey, he’s narrating the song, after all. Why can’t he have a name? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/27 "2010-11-19T17:08:13Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > So, I ask–what in the world makes this song and idea so attractive? I listened to the song in two versions. There’s a little cleverness in the lyric, which I find not well served by the vocal. Nothing particularly interesting going on instrumentally. At the time it came out, that song was really very different from everything else in the charts, with a strange narrative and protagonist, and vaguely poetic lyrics - but rather than being avant garde musically, it has an incredibly catchy tune. Therefore guaranteed cult hit. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/28 "2010-11-19T17:08:58Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > (…) I ask–what in the world makes this song and idea so attractive? I listened to the song in two versions. There’s a little cleverness in the lyric, which I find not well served by the vocal. Nothing particularly interesting going on instrumentally. (Different people like different things, but…) Birdhouse has goofy lyrics that feature esoteric reference (Argonauts and Longines) and strivings for exactitude. However, what elevates it above many Giants songs is a soaring anthem-like melody and structure. Sorta like Born To Run, ya know? But again, not for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/29 "2010-11-19T17:11:27Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > So, has anyone found a source for pictures of lighthouses, to place opposite the blue canary? > > There’s a picture opposite me, of my primitive ancestry, which stood on rocky shores and kept the beaches shipwreck-free… No, but we have one, and we’ll be doing exactly that. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/30 "2010-11-19T17:36:57Z")
And a sweet female harmony version from Pushing Daisies… [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d23t8h-wmcc) ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/31 "2010-11-19T19:38:12Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > I would have guessed that the _song_ is a reference to the _thing_, not the other way round. But it turns out that the song is twenty years old, while this particular night light is a recent creation, from someone who specifically wanted a blue canary and couldn’t find one. And apparently there are enough such people, inspired by the song, that he’s contracted the manufacture to China and has a [site](http://bluecanarynightlight.com/) selling _nothing but_. No, I think you’re correct, in that it was originally written about a specific nightlight. It may have been a one-of a kind, though, not mass-produced. Which kind of cheapens it now, to have one readily available. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/32 "2010-11-19T19:46:25Z")
I’ve been listening to TMBG since _Flood_ came out in 1990, even seeing them live in a free concert at my university around that time, and I’ve listened to “Birdhouse in Your Soul” hundreds of times. But most lyrics generally go right over my head–I never would have put two and two together and figured out the significance of a blue canary nightlight. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/33 "2010-11-20T04:50:15Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > (Different people like different things, but…) > > Birdhouse has goofy lyrics Unlike other songs they did, such as “The Statue Got Me High”? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/34 "2010-11-21T20:45:39Z")
Don’t forget [this](http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/Prosthetic_forehead)! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/35 "2010-11-21T20:48:39Z")
Oh yeah, hello Christmas! ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/36 "2010-11-21T22:12:57Z")
Will definitely be buying this for the Ogress for a stocking stuffer. She’s going to love it! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/37 "2010-11-21T23:05:37Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > And a sweet female harmony version from Pushing Daisies… > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d23t8h-wmcc&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d23t8h-wmcc&feature=related) That hurt my ears. Anyway, I read on one of those desperately stupid lyrics interpretation sites that there was a brand of nightlights that was called “Blue Canary”, featuring a picture of a canary singing a single note, and the brand spelled “light” L-I-T-E. Does anyone know if this is true or just speculation? ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/38 "2010-11-21T23:47:56Z")
I actually gasped out loud when I clicked the link. Then ordered two. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/39 "2010-11-22T00:16:52Z")
And done. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217/40 "2010-11-22T00:26:24Z")
I just sent the link to a couple friends who are TMBG fans, but who I won’t be buying presents for. I expect at least one of them will order one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-coolest-product-ive-seen-for-sale-in-a-while/561217.md?page=3)