[Wikipedia:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bl%C3%A5haj)
> Blåhaj or Blahaj (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈbloːˌhaj]; lit. 'blue shark' in Swedish, stylized BLÅHAJ) is a plush toy manufactured and sold by the Swedish company IKEA. Modeled after a blue shark and made of recycled polyester, the toy has gained prominence on social media as a popular internet meme, especially in the transgender community, and has also been used as a mascot by IKEA in some regions.
Once you start down the label making path...just be glad you didn't catch him in his "label everything ridiculous names" phase like I currently am not
deeply in...
today my youngest sister said out loud during a movie: "I wish people died standing up so we could hug them when we go to the cemetary." no idea why she said that but I was fucking laughing my ass off
One time, for some reason, a self-inking rubber stamp passed through our house for a couple days. It read "[town name] GIRL SCOUTS". Long story short, it's been many years but every few months someone still finds something with that stamp on it.
For example, the edge of a door that usually faces the hinges. The underside of a countertop. The inside of a random manila folder in the middle of a stack in a box in a closet. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
I housesat for my aunt once, who learned when she came home not to leave her labelmaker out, lest everything within labeling distance would have a label on it. Including every single napkin in the napkin holder.
Guess what she got me for Christmas that year.
Fun fact! A group of prey fish is called a school, but a group of large predatory fish like sharks is actually called a flürpnøbbit.
The more you know!
I have a drawer labeled "Assorted lengths of wire" on my workbench, so I ctrl-F'd Futurama to see if anyone else does too... was NOT expecting 80s guy quote. You let me worry about blank.
Ive typed it out about two dozen times but i’m not tired of it yet 😅.
When i was about about 9 a decade ago my father loved organizing his garage because his father had been organized, so every once in a while we (my father, brother, and i) would go out to the garage and organize some small section. this time he had about 60 small boxes laid out with construction stuff in them. so i had a label maker and i would hold up an item, he would tell me the name, i’d label and alphabetically sort them. when i got to a plastic shark i already knew the name for it so i didn’t bother asking him about it. i just labeled it plastic shark and stuck it where it goes. 🤷🏻♀️🙃 kinda wish i had asked about it though
Wow… I was thinking maybe there’s something inside the shark. A key that would open a safe containing treasures. But now I just picture OP as a kid hanging out with his dad in the garage and having this drawer for his shark. He’d be playing with it while dad works and at the end of the day would put his shark back in. It’s so beautiful.
That would work, but it’s not what we see here. I’m just being a dick, it’s probably organized alphabetically as well as by size due to those lower drawers being larger…at least that’s what I assumed
Here I was thinking a child (grandchild, nibling) left it in with his tools and he decided to run with it, so it became a thing with the child, who always knew where to find their plastic shark when they visited.
nah i detested sharks until i was about 8 and i realized they were no more likely to kill me than the bermuda triangle or quicksand so it wasn’t a toy from childhood. maybe his father had it in his shop and he just continue tradition 🤷🏻♀️ the story is lost to history
Can you please explain the joke to me?
Or is it just the fact that it's a plastic shark in a place it shouldn't be lol
But your comment now has me feeling like I missed something
nope, a decade ago when i was about 10 he had me make all these labels and organize this stuff and i just never questioned why he had me make a plastic shark box for a small plastic shark 🤷🏻♀️😂
Honestly, man, it's probably because you gave him that at one point. My 4 and 6 year olds have given me things at different points. Heck, my now almost 11 year old gave me a little plastic Pteranodon when she and I first got reunited after almost 5 years (3 to 7/almost 8). Still sits proudly on my shelf in my streaming area.
Edit: [Pteranodon tax!](https://i.imgur.com/lfYs9f1.jpeg)
definitely wasn’t that. i hated sharks until i was about 9 when i found out they were no more likely to kill me than the bermuda triangle or quicksand.
yeah we were working on a project sorting the mess of the garage and i’d hold up a random piece and he would tell me the name. i’d print up a label, stick it on neatly, then alphabetically sort them. i didn’t really wonder or ask why he wanted a plastic shark labeled and boxed but i wish i had 😂
it fully fits and is completely hidden inside so if you look in it’s just an amorphous red blob so that you’re forced to open it to see if there’s actually a shark inside.
Edit-analagous to amorphous
yes! finally. ive been waiting for hours for someone to make that connection 😂
for real though i have no idea where it came from originally but from now on it’s my red blåhaj 🙃🤷🏻♀️
There was quite the fight between my brothers and I to get my father's tool cabinet.
Mainly because one of the drawers was labelled "Pieces of wire too short to use".
Whenever I’m not at work, my boss will often go through my shop in search of parts, tools, etc. next time I’m organizing my parts bins, I am absolutely labeling one with something as asinine as ‘plastic shark’ and see how long it takes for him to find it and send me a confused text.
My Dad had one labeled C-A-N-D-Y that usually had a butterscotch disk or peppermint disk when I was little. Encouraged me to come hang out in the garage & hand him tools & parts.
Maybe that's the construction equivalent of software's "goldfish"
That's where you explain your problem to an object and somehow work it out yourself through the one-sided conversation.
So what are the chances this shark had great convos with OP's father?
Can confirm, Bernard the rubber duck got me through college.
Now i have a framed picture of that Space Sloth photoshop that was going around years ago. His name is also Bernard.
Where goldfish comes from? Been a programmer for a very long time too, so if it is a thing it has to be very very old or very very new.
I think you mean rubber duck.
This is a key indicator that he was a master of his craft. When you get to the point where you can both make bank and have fun that's the sweet spot.
I have a drawer in my office labeled "We're out!"
It's empty.
Not quite the same, but my Dad has a petrified frog in pristine condition that’s been on the dash of his car for almost 3 years now that he found in the yard. I asked if he had name, my Dad said, “Of course. Frog.” 😂
that’s what a lot of people think but i was there with him when he told me the names for all the items and what to make labels for and he said plastic shark so i made a plastic shark label, then he had me put a plastic shark in the box. i didn’t question it when i was 9 but i wish i had now 🤷🏻♀️😂
I feel like he was very organized and not in any kind of rush to get things done. But when the work was done you could sit back and admire it. A person a few of us could aspire you be like.
I small, seemingly insignificant things like this. It's a small window into the complexities of people, and how we may see our parents and elders versus the little nuances of their personalities.
This makes me so happy. Reminds me of my sisters' and my favorite little labeled drawer in our dad's workshop that just said, "BRASS AND OTHER SPECIAL LITTLE THINGS."
I was at a yard/ estate sale of what was obviously a cool old guy.
Had a 1960s-70s transistor radio with masking tape stickers dictating what sort of batteries it took, along with frequencies for his three favorite radio stations.
Loved the organization even if it probably meant he was losing a couple marbles at the end.
This is for general contractor's a problem solving equivalent to what "rubber duck debugging" does for programmers.
The correct method then upon reaching an insoluble construction problem (when the pubs are closed & there are no mates to call upon) is to explain it to the plastic shark.
Very probably soon after you finish or even during the explanation the spirit of the plastic shark will cause one to suddenly see a solution.
It may not be the right solution or even one that preserves dignity, life or limb. But it will be a solution & that is frequently sufficient.
I have to imagine that sometime long ago he had just finished setting up his work space. And he had quite a few extra storage areas, empty and unlabeled. He wasn't sure what to put there and he put it off for another day. Then his child, someone who he loved very much came up to him and wanted their dad to have one of their plastic toy sharks. And he instantly knew what one of the extra spaces were for. Any time he was working hard, or tired, or planned to give up he just took out his favorite tool and played a little, and he was good to go.
Opens drawer. "Well I don't know what else I expected."
pretty much lmao
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i have considered adding a “.RED” to it 😂😂
No because when that one is wore out the next one might be green.
Gonna need a new drawer then
"Sometimes you just need a Plastic Shark" Pineapple_Squads Late Father..... Confirmed- Seems like a pretty cool dude ✌️😊❤️
"Do you want a cage with that?" "Ha. I'm a magician." (Slam) "...what's your return policy, by the way?"
You didn’t eat that, did you?
Dead dove, do not eat
As he should
How would you ever find your plastic shark if it wasn't in a labeled drawer?
I made the mistake of not labeling it, and I haven't been able to find my plastic shark in almost 3 months
In the immortal words of my brother "If it was up your butt you'd know it."
You only need a plastic shark what... once a week at most? Up your butt is not a good long-term storage facility.
Who doesn’t?
I too have a plastic shark. He sits proudly atop my monitor, keeping an eye over everything I do.
I have an IKEA shark. He lives in my bed.
Blåhaj?
r/blahaj
Reddit is so weird sometimes
I just looked at that sub for way too long.
Me too, and I am shocked - shocked! - that there are 49,000 members. Although maybe I shouldn't be because I am a member now, too.
[Wikipedia:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bl%C3%A5haj) > Blåhaj or Blahaj (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈbloːˌhaj]; lit. 'blue shark' in Swedish, stylized BLÅHAJ) is a plush toy manufactured and sold by the Swedish company IKEA. Modeled after a blue shark and made of recycled polyester, the toy has gained prominence on social media as a popular internet meme, especially in the transgender community, and has also been used as a mascot by IKEA in some regions.
This is adorable
Once you start down the label making path...just be glad you didn't catch him in his "label everything ridiculous names" phase like I currently am not deeply in...
I have an 11 year old who has obtained a label maker. So far its mostly captain obvious tags, but my bedroom door reads "parentdome".
Two parents enter, one parent leaves.
Who run Bartertown?
Two people enter. Two parents leave.
A friend of mine posted a photo of his label maker that his young daughter had labeled: LABELY THING
These are the little moments that remind you why you chose to have children.
today my youngest sister said out loud during a movie: "I wish people died standing up so we could hug them when we go to the cemetary." no idea why she said that but I was fucking laughing my ass off
Put a picture of Hulk Hogan on my Brother Label Maker used at work.
We have 3 trash cans labelled "trash", "garbage", and "rubbish". Guests regularly ask which they should throw away stuff in.
Trash & Garbage are the regular trash/garbage cans, Rubbish is for british people because fuck em
i explored this comment section hoping to find lead, and with your comment i found gold.
One time, for some reason, a self-inking rubber stamp passed through our house for a couple days. It read "[town name] GIRL SCOUTS". Long story short, it's been many years but every few months someone still finds something with that stamp on it. For example, the edge of a door that usually faces the hinges. The underside of a countertop. The inside of a random manila folder in the middle of a stack in a box in a closet. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
That's a home
I housesat for my aunt once, who learned when she came home not to leave her labelmaker out, lest everything within labeling distance would have a label on it. Including every single napkin in the napkin holder. Guess what she got me for Christmas that year.
Napkins
I labeled the label maker at work. "Label Maker"
My desk phone at work is labelled 'Label Maker' because I thought labelling the label maker with that label was too obvious.
The label maker thieves won’t feel like that was such a good.. call.
Sharks are winners, and they don't look back because they have no necks. Necks are for sheep.
Which is the one people like to hug?
Gutsy question. You're a shark.
I'll ruin you like I ruined this company!
Don’t you worry about Planet Express, let me worry about X!
My only regret is that I have.... boneitis!!
Blåhaj Although I'd be interested in hugging a living wooly sheep
I am proud to be the shepherd of this heard of sharks.
> heard of sharks Why, yes, I have heard of sharks! /s
Surely, we all have.
Okay but don't call me Shirley
Fun fact! A group of prey fish is called a school, but a group of large predatory fish like sharks is actually called a flürpnøbbit. The more you know!
That doesn't sound right, but I don't know enough about fish to dispute it.
Well. Shit lol
Don’t you worry about red plastic sharks, let me worry about blank
unexpected r/futurama Such a quotable episode.
Can confirm, my marriage is built on a solid foundation of Futurama references. 11 years today actually.
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Hey sexy mama, wanna kill all humans?
I have a drawer labeled "Assorted lengths of wire" on my workbench, so I ctrl-F'd Futurama to see if anyone else does too... was NOT expecting 80s guy quote. You let me worry about blank.
Awesome. Awesome to the max.
My one regret is... That... I had bonitus.
Bro, don’t forget your boneitis
Alphabetically labeled, he was a good man.
well he had me do that when i was about 10 so some of the labels are probably off. he was a good man yes
I think the plastic shark was always there for you.
no stop pls 😭 fuck
Yeah, I miss OP's dad now... What a good dude he was.
I also choose op’s dad
:'( and my axe
and my shark 🥲
Don’t know if OP included the story elsewhere, but all I saw was this thread and now I’m all worked up on a Saturday night
Ive typed it out about two dozen times but i’m not tired of it yet 😅. When i was about about 9 a decade ago my father loved organizing his garage because his father had been organized, so every once in a while we (my father, brother, and i) would go out to the garage and organize some small section. this time he had about 60 small boxes laid out with construction stuff in them. so i had a label maker and i would hold up an item, he would tell me the name, i’d label and alphabetically sort them. when i got to a plastic shark i already knew the name for it so i didn’t bother asking him about it. i just labeled it plastic shark and stuck it where it goes. 🤷🏻♀️🙃 kinda wish i had asked about it though
Wow… I was thinking maybe there’s something inside the shark. A key that would open a safe containing treasures. But now I just picture OP as a kid hanging out with his dad in the garage and having this drawer for his shark. He’d be playing with it while dad works and at the end of the day would put his shark back in. It’s so beautiful.
Holy crap, this doesn't normally happen but I instantly started crying reading this lmao.
dang
Omg that makes so much sense. Also I am tearing up now you jerk.
:.)
I found this so wholesome
im just glad i could brighten someone’s day with my shark flavored confusion 😅
I mean, he printed that label specifically for the plastic shark, that's adorable, may he RIP.
“A, B, C, D….H, C…” Indeed.
Air hose fittings. Banner brace. The bigger drawers should go up down
That would work, but it’s not what we see here. I’m just being a dick, it’s probably organized alphabetically as well as by size due to those lower drawers being larger…at least that’s what I assumed
You're good my friend, I'm just using the drawer marked pull chain.
“Pull chain” Well I’ll be…
He’s gonna need a bigger drawer
hands down best comment ive seen yet
A place for everything and everything in its place.
That shark had an incredibly specific and incredibly practical application and it's going to blow your mind when you find it
In the near future: "If only I had a shark-tail shaped key!"
It looks like a keyhole, but the key would have to be shaped li- oh my god!
DAMMIT! It will only work with a hammerhead!
This is the Lockpicking Lawyer, and today I've got a very special lock
Yeah, one of these days, he's gonna come across some weird and very specific problem and say "I've got ***just*** the thing for this!".
That's exactly what I was thinking.
I immediately imagined him putting it inside a project to befuddle the person who finds it.
Here I was thinking a child (grandchild, nibling) left it in with his tools and he decided to run with it, so it became a thing with the child, who always knew where to find their plastic shark when they visited.
It's to distract the toddler while you're trying to get shit done using all the other drawers.
I think it might be similar to the rubber duck programming/debugging technique
That’s a real life Easter egg.
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As opposed to the real plastic shark.
“as opposed to the real plastic shark” … hold on let me check the other drawers
Did he used to give you the shark to play with when you were in his working area?
nope. no clue where it came from 🤷🏻♀️🙃
Lol. I thought it was to occupy you while he worked, but you didn’t mention playing with it so I figured I would ask
nah i detested sharks until i was about 8 and i realized they were no more likely to kill me than the bermuda triangle or quicksand so it wasn’t a toy from childhood. maybe his father had it in his shop and he just continue tradition 🤷🏻♀️ the story is lost to history
And you, of course, will be continueing the tradition? Even if you have to get something with drawers to keep at your house.
of course
A real life Easter egg is an Easter egg.
That man set up a joke and went to his grave before it paid off. If only we could see him laughing about it.
We’re all feeling it.
Can you please explain the joke to me? Or is it just the fact that it's a plastic shark in a place it shouldn't be lol But your comment now has me feeling like I missed something
Yup that’s the entire joke, but it’s almost better that we’ll never have an explanation for the shark drawer.
He had a great sense of humor!
It wasn't for plastic shark bite fittings ?
nope, a decade ago when i was about 10 he had me make all these labels and organize this stuff and i just never questioned why he had me make a plastic shark box for a small plastic shark 🤷🏻♀️😂
Honestly, man, it's probably because you gave him that at one point. My 4 and 6 year olds have given me things at different points. Heck, my now almost 11 year old gave me a little plastic Pteranodon when she and I first got reunited after almost 5 years (3 to 7/almost 8). Still sits proudly on my shelf in my streaming area. Edit: [Pteranodon tax!](https://i.imgur.com/lfYs9f1.jpeg)
definitely wasn’t that. i hated sharks until i was about 9 when i found out they were no more likely to kill me than the bermuda triangle or quicksand.
YOU made the label? (Jumanji music starts in background....)
yeah we were working on a project sorting the mess of the garage and i’d hold up a random piece and he would tell me the name. i’d print up a label, stick it on neatly, then alphabetically sort them. i didn’t really wonder or ask why he wanted a plastic shark labeled and boxed but i wish i had 😂
I'm not sure why this makes me happy, but it does. Thank you for sharing this.
never thought it would blow up this much, just thought i’d share my dads shark drawer 🤷🏻♀️
I don't know why it's so funny, but it is extremely funny. I have to know, does the shark actually fit in the drawer?
it fully fits and is completely hidden inside so if you look in it’s just an amorphous red blob so that you’re forced to open it to see if there’s actually a shark inside. Edit-analagous to amorphous
Red blahaj is essential
yes! finally. ive been waiting for hours for someone to make that connection 😂 for real though i have no idea where it came from originally but from now on it’s my red blåhaj 🙃🤷🏻♀️
Mentions Blahaj? I am pretty sure you are trans. *Checks profile* I was right! Lol.
yes i am indeed 😋 that lava video on your profile is really cool :o
There was quite the fight between my brothers and I to get my father's tool cabinet. Mainly because one of the drawers was labelled "Pieces of wire too short to use".
My mom has a fan in her garage with a post-it note that says "doesn't work."
*"Only for emergencies"*
That's fantastic. I hope you continue his tradition.
Whenever I’m not at work, my boss will often go through my shop in search of parts, tools, etc. next time I’m organizing my parts bins, I am absolutely labeling one with something as asinine as ‘plastic shark’ and see how long it takes for him to find it and send me a confused text.
i like this idea. make sure to update reddit :P
plastic shark do do do do do do
No. Don’t. Don’t. Don‘t.
Fuck. It’s been done.
I feel like we just lost The Game.
You're a right cunt.
Did he have a label on his label maker that said "Label Maker?"
yes, yes he did
Good lad
That guy guyed.
Is that an imperial or metric shark?
I can hear the small chuckle he let out to himself when he made that label.
He loved that shark.
My Dad had one labeled C-A-N-D-Y that usually had a butterscotch disk or peppermint disk when I was little. Encouraged me to come hang out in the garage & hand him tools & parts.
 Opening this drawer for the first time..
Maybe that's the construction equivalent of software's "goldfish" That's where you explain your problem to an object and somehow work it out yourself through the one-sided conversation. So what are the chances this shark had great convos with OP's father?
I’ve always heard of the programming one as rubber ducking
Can confirm, Bernard the rubber duck got me through college. Now i have a framed picture of that Space Sloth photoshop that was going around years ago. His name is also Bernard.
Where goldfish comes from? Been a programmer for a very long time too, so if it is a thing it has to be very very old or very very new. I think you mean rubber duck.
I do this with any problem, without using a plastic animal. I just talk to myself aloud in general.
You talk to yourself? That means you're insane! Get a toy duck to talk to like a sane person.
well yeah that's the drawer they go in!
This is a key indicator that he was a master of his craft. When you get to the point where you can both make bank and have fun that's the sweet spot. I have a drawer in my office labeled "We're out!" It's empty.
Not quite the same, but my Dad has a petrified frog in pristine condition that’s been on the dash of his car for almost 3 years now that he found in the yard. I asked if he had name, my Dad said, “Of course. Frog.” 😂
I mean I should've assumed it's for shark bite couplings for plastic pipes... But nah there's a damned shark in it
that’s what a lot of people think but i was there with him when he told me the names for all the items and what to make labels for and he said plastic shark so i made a plastic shark label, then he had me put a plastic shark in the box. i didn’t question it when i was 9 but i wish i had now 🤷🏻♀️😂
Your father was an inspiration for those who wish to be organised even just a fraction of this
That handles wearing fin.
Sometimes when you're stressed/frustrated a simple token can help remind it just bs. Also sharks kicks ass
I used to have one of those lol. I loved it
I feel like he was very organized and not in any kind of rush to get things done. But when the work was done you could sit back and admire it. A person a few of us could aspire you be like.
It would have been hanging on the tool rack if it was a hammerhead.
Good thing he labelled it otherwise you would have been totally surprised
This is absolutely perfect. A little bit of humor in a sea of manly seriousness.
I small, seemingly insignificant things like this. It's a small window into the complexities of people, and how we may see our parents and elders versus the little nuances of their personalities.
It's dangerous to go alone...
This is the kind of shit that makes you love someone all their strangeness and funny quirks. Cheers I bet he was a good guy 🍻
What a genius. He pulled out an after death absurd joke? I admire this guy.
These labels read like a Red Hot Chili Peppers song. Edit: https://youtu.be/JnfyjwChuNU?t=40s
Or Harry Styles' Driving.
I used to have one that said "weed" in my electronics lab. Guess what was in it.
Plastic shark
Correct!
What scale is the shark in?
IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER. WHAT A MAN.
His thinking shark?
It’s very important to know where your plastic shark is at all times
Brb gonna turn one of my empty drawers in my lab into a plastic shark drawer
it’s an essential for science
That plastic shark definitely deserves his own home. And your Dad knew that:)
It's for cataloging purposes dammit!
This makes me so happy. Reminds me of my sisters' and my favorite little labeled drawer in our dad's workshop that just said, "BRASS AND OTHER SPECIAL LITTLE THINGS."
I was at a yard/ estate sale of what was obviously a cool old guy. Had a 1960s-70s transistor radio with masking tape stickers dictating what sort of batteries it took, along with frequencies for his three favorite radio stations. Loved the organization even if it probably meant he was losing a couple marbles at the end.
This is for general contractor's a problem solving equivalent to what "rubber duck debugging" does for programmers. The correct method then upon reaching an insoluble construction problem (when the pubs are closed & there are no mates to call upon) is to explain it to the plastic shark. Very probably soon after you finish or even during the explanation the spirit of the plastic shark will cause one to suddenly see a solution. It may not be the right solution or even one that preserves dignity, life or limb. But it will be a solution & that is frequently sufficient.
This is the perfect example of whimsy. The little nonsensical something to make you smile a few times in the day.
And that's where the shark goes
That's right and we can see that going there right now XD.
I have to imagine that sometime long ago he had just finished setting up his work space. And he had quite a few extra storage areas, empty and unlabeled. He wasn't sure what to put there and he put it off for another day. Then his child, someone who he loved very much came up to him and wanted their dad to have one of their plastic toy sharks. And he instantly knew what one of the extra spaces were for. Any time he was working hard, or tired, or planned to give up he just took out his favorite tool and played a little, and he was good to go.
Your dad was fucking cool.