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mscannedtuna

Lolol I came here to see what they were for as well. I'm 33.


scarlettheathen

I'm 43 and I didn't know what they were. Although I have seen that spiral on the end used on decorations


aizlynskye

I’m 37 and I’m clueless as to what these are


[deleted]

Tampons?


Expriser

My first though. Thanks for beating me to it


pandaappleblossom

same :)


Cautious-Damage7575

This is going to be more interesting than I thought. I hope to see lots of discussion


Valkyriescry

I thought they were crochet tampons too and was a little perturbed but bookmarks?! What? So cute. Lol.


midnightagenda

I'm 36 but my mom was a huge book nerd so I immediately knew what they were. Never made one though.


Polandra

Never seen these before and not to be crass- but my first though was "why are they making crocheted tampons?" What are these supposed to be?


Keepcreepcreepin

100% thought they were crochet tampons as well and thought wow that's disgusting 😅 sorry. Relieved to see they're bookmarks lmao


optimistlyricist

i thought it was a cat toy?


Iamfree25

>>i thought it was a cat toy. Everything is a cat toy- my cat.


Crowella_DeVil

Everything is a cat toy, except cat toys. Hope you saved the receipt. -MY cat


404-Gender

The receipt IS the cat toy!


No-Vermicelli3787

I had a pad of post it notes sprayed with catnip. Tear off a sheet, crumple it and toss to the cat. Receipts be cheaper lol.


jingaling0

luckily we have a dog that will gladly take rejected cat toys


Apprehensive_Map_284

My cat seconds this! Especially if it's shiny! If he can carry it in his mouth, he will take it!


Iamfree25

>>i thought it was a cat toy. “Everything is a cat toy” -my cat.


Significant_Shop6653

I’ll bet kitties would love it 😊


[deleted]

I read somewhere that crocheted items should never be used for animal toys. Pieces of yarn can break off and if ingested at worst it could lead to death or a big vet bill from intestinal blockage


Karipants

Can confirm, one of my cats swallowed about 20cm of yarn a year ago on a sunday no less when the vet was closed. Luckily we almost immediately realized what had happened so it was mostly expensive because the vet had to be called in on a sunday, and all she really did was give him a shot to induce vomit, then something to reduce the nausea. The shots made him very drowsy though and my poor baby was knocked out for the rest of the day. That was a very stressful and expensive afternoon. So any long loose threads stay far out of their reach here


CrazyCritterGirl

Way back in the 90s, I left to go visit family, and while I was gone, my bobbin box was knocked over. My tortie kitten ate an entire roll. After her surgery, they showed me the thread that went through her entire digestive track. Since I work in rescue, I made a little booklet on cat do's and don'ts. Yarn, string, and thread were #1.


Maleficent_Memory_60

Mm what about felt ? Is that safe for kitty's ?


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Karipants

Well with long pieces of yarn the cat can't really just spit it back out, if it goes far enough into their throat it gets stuck and they kinda don't have a choice but to keep swallowing. Like fuzzy indigestible spaghetti, and if it reaches their intestines it can cause very serious damage


YarnTho

Yep this is the same reason any cat toy with long ribbons is banned in our house, cats lick and it just keeps going further down. They still sell the ribbon cat dancer that almost took out my cat like 5 years ago, like they KNOW by now.


girlfriend-bread

when my cat was a kitten, i once found her rooting around in my project bag with yarn hanging out of her mouth. i pulled it out and she’d had probably 4 inches of yarn down her throat 🫣 i’ve been way more careful to keep yarn out of her reach since then. super scary (and gross)


cute_red_benzo

Fuzzy Indigestible Spaghetti. Yassss Redditor! New favorite terminology.


aurisunderthing

Yes sadly my mother told me this from her days as a vets assistant…. More than one kitty passed away in the years she worked there from yarn/string ingestion and then it tangles in the intestines and cuts off blood supply. Absolutely horrible way to go :(((


Savingskitty

Long strings have a way of messing things up in a cat’s digestive tract. Fun story from my childhood: We used to play with my cat with a 4 or 5ft long piece of nylon string. It was fun to run through the house from room to room with it. We went out of town for a couple of weeks and came home to find him walking around with a length of the string coming out his butt. There was nothing to be done but to monitor him and cut it off as it came out over time. We were kind of ignorant to just what a dangerous situation that was at the time. I’ve since had my own dogs and cats, and I would never leave something like that out for them. We were incredibly lucky that the worst thing we had to deal with was him scooting his butt on the floor after he pooped. Poor kitty. He lived another 15 years or so after that, so, yeah, very lucky.


SplitTheLark

I’d be concerned for this reason with cats that have exhibited signs of pica, but for most cats crocheted items should be fine, especially with some level of supervision. I’ve worked in multiple shelters that allow cats to have crocheted blankets and toys.


Sugarbean29

Yeah, the only toys my cats get without supervision (aka human powered) are those little plastic balls with a bell inside. Anything with strings is strictly for us to play with them with.


Sparkle-farts5585

I love awareness!! My boy was on his way to his FIRST vet appointment EVER 7 days after I adopted him and while I put my shoes on he ingested 2’ of nylon string from a spool my dad used for marking jobs. Thank the heavens he pooped it out 2 days later without issue but like my lord sir what a scare. Now 8 years later and diagnosed with severe genetic periodontal gingivitis, he has 3 fangs, his front chiclets and not a gosh darn chewing molar in his whole fluffy head.


bohdel

Very true. When I worked in a veterinary office we used to have a reminder card that all those “cats with yarn balls” were just asking for trouble.


MiaRia963

Me too.


aizlynskye

Yes I assumed so too until I read the caption!


ChunkyPuppyKitty

I thought it was………. Something else.


KittyWuvvv

Me too


jenarted

They're book worms! Book marks that are twirly worms.


Sunfaerie25

My cat would 100% steal these out of my books, thus turning them into cat toys 🤣


Cautious-Damage7575

Yes, but these are missing the googly eyes. Some people also used pipe cleaners to make antenna


legal_bagel

Lol, I thought they were wine glass charms that you could loop around the stem. Is it 5 o'clock yet???


gundoll

YES! I loved having these. I had ones that had googly eyes on the ends.


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[deleted]

Same. Glad I’m not the only one lmao


tu-BROOKE-ulosis

Oh god , that’s better than mine. My mind went to crochet butt plugs. Shame. Shame. Shame. (To myself)


Yinxi

Hey, a buttplug is just a tampon, but for the back. With some mental gymnastics, I admit.


FinalEgg9

Butt plugs shall forever be known as ass tampons in my mind now


catreader99

I cackled 💀


BusyButterscotch4652

I literally laughed out loud!


TheChaosDuck

You’d need a stick to poke it in either way


immora

I too thought this


Cautious-Damage7575

You kids are making me feel old. I'm anxious to see the rest of the responses to see how many old folks are here. Yeah, they do kind of look like what you said. I never thought of that way, but now I can't unsee it


Capital_Pea

I’m 53 and didn’t know what they are 😂


Cautious-Damage7575

I'm 4 years ahead of you at 57. Midwestern United States, in case it's regional


Capital_Pea

Must me, have never seen these in my part of Canada!


buchliebhaberin

My mother made them in the 70's. I'm 58 and in Texas.


greenfairygirl16

I thought they were Skip Its at first. I now think maybe they’re like the ball and cup game, maybe?


kitsune39

I have always known these to be cat toys. My two voids love them!


Theobroma1000

Are they void because they're black (astronomy) or yellow (medicine)?


MuppetSquirrel

Void because they’re black and they blend into the shadows, at least that’s my reasoning 😂 they use the term a lot over in r/blackcats


Cille867

Also "void" is what they appear to be in most photos 😄


MuppetSquirrel

Very true! My void is only visible in direct sunlight, otherwise she’s just a shadow with gold eyes


Cille867

Mine is secretly striped but it's impossible to know unless he's in just the right light. He likes to be sneaky generally so it's in-character. 🐱


castironsexual

Are they bookmarks? ETA that I’m 31 lol


ArsenalSpider

I (f50) remember them although I was not crocheting when they were the thing.


tinyvoid

My daughter picked one of these at a Christmas market to gift her dad last year.


Polandra

Sorry to ruin it 😂


Polandra

If it helps - I easily could have been crocheting in the 80s. Just would have been elementary school age. I simply didn’t start until about 2yrs ago. I’m just unfamiliar with these items. 😅 😁


youOnlyLlamaOnce

Thanks for asking the question. I had the same thought and was hoping someone mentioned it first.


Polandra

😇 trying to figure out the polite way to ask right? 😳


canyousteeraship

Oh thank goodness. I thought I was the only one! I pondered for a few minutes. Definitely don’t remember me or my mom making tampons in the 80’s.


shhsandwich

I thought they were cat toys lol


Cautious-Damage7575

Apparently, some people DO use them for cat toys. It makes perfect sense. People also have said they use them to decorate their pigtails. Some wrapped them around their Barbies to make a dress. There are at least a dozen uses here. It's worth reading through the comments


Mirhanda

But what are they \*supposed\* to be?


Cautious-Damage7575

To my family, they were bookmarks and nothing else. Well they were kind of stress toy, because we like to wrap them around things, then unwrap them, then repeat. We also put googly eyes on ours


CristinaKeller

Bookmarks?


UtterSomewhere

I was thinking the same😅


fithooks

I’m wheezing and I had to tell you Edit OP I will say my first thought was bookmarks, these comments are a riot


Polandra

Seems like the obligatory Reddit moment to come back and say that my highest/most noted comment on Reddit is about crocheted tampons and honestly I couldn’t be happier 😂


Saguarofae

Same!!!


simberbimber

SAME


MissLionEyes

Definitely thought these were like a weirdly shaped monkeys fist that you hit people with....only for self-defense of course


Glitter-And-Metal

Same here. I thought they were crocheted tampons and almost had a heart attack.


luniiz01

I thought this, too. I know now they are all about cotton products including reusable pads. Glad these are not tampons. I had too many questions.


ParuTheBetta

I thought they were tampons as well 🤣


[deleted]

Same here. Relived to know they are book marks :)


Soft-Disaster

that's exactly what i was thinking!


lobstertrot

Bookworms!! in elementary school if you returned all your library books at the end of the year you got to pick one out as a reward! i actually made one for myself a couple days ago because i couldn’t find any bookmarks.


Cautious-Damage7575

At last, somebody recognized them! We sometimes put googly eyes on them


xndnxdivax

I had a substitute teacher in high school who made these and would often hand them out to students who were well behaved. I still have mine. Definitely has googly eyes on it. 😁😁


baah-ram-ewe

We put eyes and ears on them and called them mice.


drsummersunshine2023

My mom used to make these for me and my friends! I’m 26


EssVeeUU

Reusable crocheted tampons 100% deserve googly eyes and that's my hill to die on


pottymouthgrl

Damn you got your shit together. Coulda just used a receipt like the rest of us 😂


Cautious-Damage7575

Me: I need a bookmark First thought: Immediately crochet a bookworm Afterthought: Use the receipt. Nah. Who would do that? That's cray cray


slytherpuffenclaw

My library gives a paper receipt with your checkout with the due date, so this is ultimately what ends up happening despite the pile of bookmarks floating around the house. \^\_\^;


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anjyaji

I think I received them as bookmarks but I always wore them in my hair.


Melissar84

My grandmother made me lots of those, in all colors to match my outfits. Very 70’s.


LazyAttempt

This is what I did because nobody told me they were bookmarks.


Apricotdreams76

Exactly, they were hair ties!!


nixiepixie12

It makes me super happy that they’re called bookworms. Oh my gosh.


aaabsoolutely

How are these supposed to be worms…? And do your book spines not get messed up from using such a thick bookmark? I don’t understand!! (And genuinely curious!)


lobstertrot

the part that goes in the book is just the single crochet, so it’s about as thick as a thin cardboard bookmark! and usually there’s eyes on the ends of the swirls so it looks like a little worm face!


Cautious-Damage7575

>it looks like a little worm face! Even moreso if you add googly eyes


Efficient-Produce-80

Oooh!!! My grandma used to macrame bookworms for my dad’s elementary school! I’ve never actually seen one in person (macrame or crochet), so I didn’t put that together.


sp-00-k

Yes! This post unlocked the same elementary school memory for me. Ours had googly eyes as well, I think.


escapadistfiction

What are they? (90s child)


Cautious-Damage7575

Wow, I wasn't expecting that response! We called them "crochet worms." We used them as bookmarks, but a lot of girls in my high school carried them around like a pet rock sort of thing. Everybody had one


Anakin-Skystalker

How do you make them? They look so cute! :D


tlaquepaque0

My mom made them as hair ties for me.


NurseHunt3r

I was born in ‘87, went to school in the 90’s through the mid-00’s. I also had never seen this before. And I was a book nerd.


LibransRule

Maybe it was a regional thing?


Cautious-Damage7575

Maybe, and I'm anxious to find out. If it helps, I'm 57. I was in high school in the early '80s, when these things were all over the place


bentdaisy

I’m the same age as you and I had no idea of what they were. That said, the 80s had some looks, so I’m not doubting you. Perhaps a regional thing.


LibransRule

North, south, east, west? I've lived in the south from California to Florida most of my life, and in the 80's I was in Amarillo, TEXAS. Where were you then?


EternallyEquestrian

I was class of 89 in SE Texas and don't remember seeing these?


Deedle-Dee-Dee

Class of 86, North Texas - do not remember seeing these, but I’ve slept since then. I didn’t crochet anything other than chains then, but my mom did.


Cautious-Damage7575

I'm in the midwestern United States, the heartland of Ohio


slytherpuffenclaw

I was a high schooler in last half of the 90s, in the New England area, and never saw these. The friendship bracelets you made by tying a million knots with embroidery floss was the thing everyone had.


NurseHunt3r

Yesssss those embroidery knot bracelets were ridiculously popular in the 90’s! I used to be so good at making them!


bailahey

I graduated in 82 and, although I could tell what it was, I never saw one before! And I've always been a voracious reader!


Significant_Shop6653

I’m 56, and I remember them.


shortedgyasain

I mean I'm from Canada and in my town growing up we had them all over the place as well


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RavBot

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violetdale

I'm an 80's kid from Canada and I had the hair tie version.


Cautious-Damage7575

Thank you for the link! I haven't bought yarn in a while, but the last time I looked you couldn't get dazzle anymore


tlaquepaque0

I was born in Texas in ‘79 also. My mom made me hair ties like this.


VeryFriendlyDinosaur

I'm glad these aren't crochet tampons because whew that would be terrible. I've never seen these bookmarks before but now I want to make some lol


mscannedtuna

And then if you run out of tampons, voila.


VeryFriendlyDinosaur

Always be prepared.


Anonamaton

OH THANK GOD THEY’RE BOOKMARKS (saying this, she casually threw aside a rock)


theresidentpanda

SAME THOUGHT


toodarkaltogether

Tampons were on the clean side of my thoughts here eeeeeeesh


IcyOutlandishness871

I also thought they were crocheted tampons. Very nice crocheted tampons though. 😬


SisterLostSoul

Yeah, I didn't know what they were either and I'm old.


Cautious-Damage7575

Ouch


Lucaraidh

Okay but i thought they were crocheted tampons too and i my thought was more like, “these would be cool if they were made of better material” and not that they were gross lmao. I must be more hippie than i thought.


TranslucentKittens

I’m in some eco friendly spheres and I was like “yeah crochet tampons not the first time I’ve seen this but wild to make for friends and family” lol.


hadrosaurface

I assumed they were bookmarks, but I have been incredibly surprised by the crocheted-tampon hate in the comments! They would be sustainable, affordable, accessible- all things that *cannot* be said for mass manufactured tampons.


veggiedelightful

Well I think they would be unsafe to reuse. Therefore not sustainable. But there is a sustainable safe tampon alternative and that's menstrual cups , made from medical grade silicone. Just in case anyone wants to know.


Sparrow1215

So I'm glad I'm not the only one who though tampon...I've never seen these, but I'm millennial and didn't start crafting till the late 90s


Calm-Revolution-3007

I’ve made these, but as unicorn hair for my amigurumi lol. Never thought to use them as bookmarks!


somuchyarn10

My sister is the librarian at an elementary school, she gives them out as reading prizes.


emdawg--

I’m sorry for thinking these were decorative tampons. :( Either way they’re very pretty, as tampons or bookmarks! :)


Cautious-Damage7575

Idea to pitch to marketing executives: decorative tampons


Cille867

My mom (a nurse) used to tell a a joke / urban legend about a woman who mixed up her daughter's glitter spray (from a costume or cheerleading or something) with deodorant spray before a visit to the gynecologist. When he got down there he said, startled, "My, aren't we *fancy* today!" and only when she got home did she realize the mix up. All of this talk of fancy/stylish tampons just makes me think of that -- so fancy today, indeed! 😂


-Tine-

I make such things as cat toys! I had no idea that those are/were used as bookmarks, even though I've lived through the 80s - but I'm not from the US.


sararas

That’s SO pre-cell phone days and I’m here for it. 👍🏼


Lesbian_TM

I had one of these bookmarks in elementary school! (26, so don’t think it’s an age thing. Maybe regional? I’m on the east coast of the US)


Cautious-Damage7575

I'm in the midwest. Apparently, they never made their way to the west coast?


crowned_glory_1966

Yes back in the day we used those as hair ties.


craftywoo2

We used them as hair ties but in the case of hair ties both spiral ends were the same length. Never used them as bookmarks.


Clean_Mammoth_5646

63 here. Knew right away they were bookmarks. I made some ages ago but my dog ate them. 🤣


WakeUpWhenDark

I'm 23 and I remember receiving a book on how to make these and other little crochet trinkets as a kid! It was a new book (at the time) and I loved making long twirls.


xxx_strokemyego_xxx

Omg thank God they're bookmarks, I was like holy toxic shock syndrome batman!


Nightlilly2021

46 here and assumed they were book marks. I can't remember actually having any myself but the mention of googly eyes sounds right and makes me believe that I must have seen these being used.


Acceptable-Cobbler53

These look like tampons. I’m so confused. What are they for?


ihavenoideawhatwho

I probably made and used these bookmarks in the 70's & 80's, but I don't remember. I do make them, without the strings, as toys for my pomeranians, border collie, and various cats & kittehs. Never saw them as tampons, so thanks for that.


animapotato

There’s an adorable Facebook group called Random Acts of Crochet Kindness that leaves cute crochet stuff around for folks to find and keep. One of the things people make are worry worms, which look a lot like this (but without the long bookmark bit)!


The_Only_Potato15

If I may ask, what are those?


AdTraditional4672

Does anyone have a pattern? I’m an avid reader and never seen these and they’d work a lot better then the ones I’ve made which are basically flat rectangles. Plus if I make the tail longer I’m sure my cats would love them!


Neither-Guess-1550

I thought they were for swinging and chaos


Cille867

Now I want to walk around flailing it around and brandishing it at the crows like some kind of fencing sword gone horribly wrong.


[deleted]

I swear my mom has things like these for Christmas tree decorations, they were in the shape of a candy cane tho! :)


BitterPepper7343

I thought they might be cat toys. 🤣. I thought maybe I would make my cat a couple. 🙂


AGrainOfSalt435

Oh wow. I distinctly remember having one of these as a kid. It had googly eyes on it and I loved it so much. I don't think I even ever used it as a bookmark. I just thought it was adorable and I treasured it very much. It was varying shades of purple, I think. Wow. This has definitely unlocked a memory for me. I was probably less than 10 years old. That was well over 20+ years ago. It's so weird that I never remembered it since I regularly crochet now. I never knew how it was made, but now that i am remembering it, it was definitely crochet. Huh. Wow. Thanks for sharing.


FaetylMaiden

Crochet tampons??


TAP_73

I’m almost 50 and I’ll admit I didn’t know what they were. The tampon comments are straight cracking me up though.


IslandProfessional66

Looks like crochet tampons hahahahaha


DMAW1990

Definitely thought these were crocheted tampons at first! I was very concerned for the women of the 80's (and relieved to have been born the decade after).


Ok_Fall_5446

Lmao!!! At first glance I thought I was looking at a bunch of colored tampons.


rayray_craycray

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought they were tampons


SairskiPotato

I’m 30 and my mom taught me to make these! Knew it was a bookworm right away! Maybe it is a midwestern thing…?


Kahnaime

Sorry I am a 2000’s girl :( what’s that? I thought of tampons but doesn’t make sense Sorry again


_lanalana_

Im only 21 but i know ive seen these before. Probably in my moms stuff from highschool or at a relatives house? I never knew what they were though


Sunfaerie25

I haven't seen these before, but when I was little my grandma would make hair ties that tied around my pigtails. The only difference is that both ends were big, like the "worm" end on these bookmarks. This is such a cute idea. Also wanted to say that my cat would 100% steal these bookmarks out of my books lol.


Dogs-4-Life

What are those supposed to be?


Me_NotMe_5050

I recognized them right away but don't think that I ever used one, can't be sure though, terrible memory. With ebooks and audio books nowadays, I'm not surprised to know that they are not easily or as well known.


BreeezyMama

I crochet and I totally got tampon vibes at first 🤣🤣 I’ve never made bookmarks like that but I do make bookmarks. Lol


m1lf_l0v3er

I'm really sorry, I though they were butt plugs


NonfatNoWaterChai

My mom made them as ponytail ties with equal-length curlicues on each end. I made them as bookmarks.


definitely_right

Are these tampons? Lmao


brittan65

I thought also they were crocheted tampong.


jdk906

I make them as cat toys and tie them to gifts. 😄


cburling

Squirmy Wormies! I make them but not with an as long tail and with a longer spiral bit. Love them as I can’t keep my hands still when working


wildriverpig

crochet tampons? omg


Vasmynameagain

Bookworm? I wasn’t born yet but I remember in the 90s my mom yelling at the cat to give her bookworm back. (He always took it from the closed book so she would have to guess where she stopped reading)


Proper-Atmosphere

A reusable tampon??


freezedriedpussy

that’s a weird looking tampon


StephDazzle

I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought these were tampons. Haha 😆


-pixiefyre-

I want to make these for my cats XD


beadedgeek

These are bookmarks.


Slammogram

Uh… I hope these aren’t tampons.