PEEPS SHOWS

Have you ever heard of Peeps? I hadn't until this weekend. Peeps are a marshmallow sweet produced in Pennsylvania. In 1994, the first Peeps show contest was held, with six participants. The aim is to create a diorama (small scene) which is a commentary on something, usually some cultural event. Now the national Peeps contest has thousands of entries, and the results are staggering.

What are the candies like to eat? I cannot opine, but the Wikipedia entry implies a big caveat emptor. (see below)

Peeps are sometimes jokingly described as "indestructible". In 1999, scientists at Emory University performed experiments on batches of Peeps to see how easily they could be dissolved, burned or otherwise disintegrated, using such agents as cigarette smoke, boiling water and liquid nitrogen.^[8] They claimed that the eyes of the confectionery "wouldn't dissolve in anything".^[9] Furthermore, Peeps are insoluble in acetone, water, sulfuric acid, andsodium hydroxide.^[10]



Wow. But I suppose that makes the art durable. Anyway, check this out for a take on modern American culture by clicking below: (and a big thanks to Maclyn Humphrey for sharing this unique art with me...)


Washington Post Peeps Show


And here are a few examples. Humans.....huh? What they will get up to...

MY FAVOURITES
1. Bunny Suicides (especially hiding behind the bowling pins). These are inspired by The Book of Bunny Suicides from the British cartoonist Andy Riley.

2. Terra Cotta Warriors

3. And for sheer extravagance: The Faberge Egg.