Bo the Frog

So I was at FedEx yesterday and saw a bunch of these mushroom headed frogs for sale. Weird to see that at an office supply store. It caught my interest and I noticed the mushroom was an amanita mushroom (one known for its poisonous and hallucinogenic properties).

Why do I know this? I'm a huge REM fan, and a long time ago they wrote a song called Flowers of Guatemala. Here are the lyrics:

I took a picture that I'll have to send
People here are friendly and content
People here are colorful and bright
The flowers often bloom at night

Amanita is the name
The flowers cover everything
The flowers cover everything

There's something here I find hard to ignore
There's something that I've never seen before
Amanita is the name
They cover over everything
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/r/rem/the+flowers+of+guatemala_20115263.html ]
The flowers cover everything
They cover over everything
(Amanita is the name)
The flowers cover everything

Don't look into the sun
Don't look into the sun

The flowers cover everything
They cover over everything
The flowers cover everything

The flowers cover everything
They cover over everything
The flowers cover everything

There's something that I've never seen before
The flowers often bloom at night
Amanita is the name
They cover over everything

Once I heard that song I looked up amanita and have recognized the red with white polka dotted fungus ever since. I asked the guy at the cash register why they were selling those and he told me the proceeds go to protect forests. Cool. Then I asked if he knew those were hallucinogenic mushrooms. He answered "I guess if you're into that sort of thing." To which I replied, "well I'm not into that sort of thing but yes those are hallucinogenic mushrooms and I wonder why FedEx would choose that as some kind of mascot to support a cause." I don't think he knew what to say. So I took a picture, had a laugh, and got on with my day.

Joe had no idea what I was talking about when I told him last night. Apparently most people aren't aware of amanita mushrooms (is it just an REM fan thing?) in fact apparently Mario brothers has a character with a red and white polka dotted mushroom head.

Why are these companies choosing poisonous and hallucinogenic mushrooms to represent themselves? And why is the mushroom on the frog's head? Weird business decisions as far as I'm concerned, but whatever, it made me laugh!