New York is more confusing than usual

in Random Crap

I was in New York last month recording the audiobook for FURIOUSLY HAPPY and I just realized I never wrote about the stuff I saw.  So here we go…

First off, am I the only person who sees human faces in non-human things?  Is that normal?  Because I kept seeing panicked, screaming faces on the plane:

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Victor and Hailey came down for a few days after I was done so we took her to a toy store and Iron Man was there.  We didn’t get a picture with him because he was on break, and by “on break” I mean “hiding behind the green screen and looking as if he was taking a shit in the trash can.”  A normal person would have looked away but I am not normal so here you go:
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Then when I thought it couldn’t get any weirder I realized that there was a small crowd of people on the street watching Iron Man possibly poop into his ironman toilet.  These were the people:

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“Um…what is happening?”

Then I looked back and saw Iron Man flash his hand-light-thing at them.  I tried to get a picture but I missed it and this is what I got instead.

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Don’t fuck with Iron Man when he’s pooping, y’all.

At the same store they were selling a really unfortunately named candy:

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“DINGLEBEARIES”

So, does “dingleberry” not mean the same thing up north?  Because in Texas, dingleberries are the dried balls of feces that get stuck to the hairy buttholes of farm animals.  Is that not common knowledge?  Is this a tongue-in-cheek joke by Big Gummy Bear, or was someone in marketing fucking with them when they offered up that name and the execs were like, “DINGLEBEARIE?  THAT IS FUN TO SAY.  PRINT UP A BILLION.”  I suspect it’s the latter because I saw a ton of people stop by the display and all of them were like, “Yum!  Let’s get these!  Dinglebearies sound delicious!  What will they think of next?”  And that’s a good question and one I don’t think I want to know the answer to.

Then I decided to do a sight-gag by taking a picture of myself in the NYT building so I could tweet “I’M IN THE NEW YORK TIMES TODAY, Y’ALL” but turns out they keep those doors locked.  But then someone was walking out of the building so I grabbed the door before it shut and snuck in as he was leaving so Victor could take the picture:

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Security didn’t think it was as funny as I did but on the bright side I did think it would be more entertaining to tweet pictures of me possibly being arrested.  And then I felt like this picture was a little boring compared to the picture I didn’t get of me not getting arrested so I didn’t share it.  Until now, that is.  Because I didn’t want to end with dingleberries.  No one wants that.

230 thoughts on “New York is more confusing than usual”

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  3. Dingleberry is definitely the same thing in NY. I don’t know who decided “Dingle Bearies” would be a good idea. Poop covered bears?

  4. Um….dingleberries are definitely the same thing up north. I don’t know if that makes this more funny or less.

  5. I feel the same way about Buffalo Chip cookies. Do they know that’s what people call buffalo poop once it’s dried?

  6. I thought dingleberry was a slang term for idiot. Dingleberries a euphemism for testicles. Never heard of the feces thing, but I am a city gal. And a Californian. Does that make me a Yank? Or just a weirdo?

  8. Oh fabulous, notquiteold, thanks a LOT…….I just looked at my wall connections…and now I’m paranoid as hell….

  9. As a Northerner, I can tell you – we do know what dingleberries are. Someone has a twisted sense of humor other than you. 🙂

  10. Born and bred Nor’easterner and I can attest to the fact that we use “dingleberries” almost exactly the way Texans do. The only difference is that we don’t limit the definition to animals. I’m betting the New Yorkers who were buying the candy simply appreciated the humor.

  11. I didn’t realize I would write this today, but I’m thankful the NYT was there for us.

    PS: I always figured Iron Man was a dick.

  12. Yup. Personification of inanimate objects over here too (waves from CA). An dingleberries? My dad said testicles. He was from WI. Perhaps a poll on the definition by demographic is in order?

  13. Yes Dingleberries = dried poo bits. What and awful idea! Ha I took pictures once crossing the canadian border, apparently they really really frown on taking pictures at border crossings. 😮

  14. I too see faces in everything.
    Ironman pooping in a garbage can. I literally lol’ed.
    I would never ever ever eat a candy called Dingle Bearies.

  15. The face thing is called part of a phenomenon called pareidolia. I looked it up years ago because I like knowing the scientific terms for all my crazy.

    Also is that Dingle Bearies shudder manufacturer seriously called IT’SUGAR? Because if so that is possibly the most impressive display of truth in advertising I think I’ve ever seen.

  18. Oh and YYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY for recording FURIOUSLY HAPPY. My wife and I already have our books reserved at Blue Willow for your signing in Houston!!

  19. Dingleberries mean poop stuck to the animals butt here in PA … I think someone is having us on. I mean… they are chocolate covered! I guess the first request of Poop Bears didn’t go over like they planned. Also congrats on your time in the NY Times LOL clever girl

    Oh and I’m with you on seeing the faces in inanimate objects when I have my head out of the clouds and actually pay attention to my surroundings.

  20. Thank you baby flying spaghetti monster that you didn’t post the pic of that scary man baby again…

  21. You make me laugh! I especially love your unique observations that the average person overlooks.

  23. Um, yeah, I live south of the Mason-Dixon line and I always thought that a dingleberry was dried poo on matted fur. Which reminds me that a few months ago I took part if a group exercise where a bunch of bloggers wrote a post based on one noun. Each blogger had to submit three nouns and the first noun that popped into my head was “dingleberry”. I submitted my word and apologized profusely. I don’t know why my brain must betray me ALL THE TIME. Anyway, my word was thankfully NOT the word chosen (“bacon” was the winner). Although I have to admit that a post about dingleberries would probably be funny. It’s still better than my other word which was “anal fissures” which I didn’t submit since it’s really a phrase and not a word. OK, sorry for the rambling. Love the pic of Iron Man taking a shit. That’s not something you see everyday.

  26. you are a delight. i am coming to your book signing in Dayton OH. Can we take an awful awkward selfie together? Or a picture of us getting arrested if you feel the need…

  27. I’m from Chicago and I had never heard the word “dingleberry” until my husband started using it to refer to the cat. Based on his tone of voice when he said it, I thought it was a sweet term of endearment until he explained what it means. I can tell you that it means the same thing in CA that it does in the South. We still call the cats dingleberries, though. We did it so much that one of them started responding to the term and then I was like, okay, we need to lay of the name dingleberry for a little while.

  28. The Buffalo Chip cookies my mom used to buy were definitely supposed to be a play on words, with buffalo chips (dried bison poop) supposedly looking similar to the chocolate-coated, mounded cookies.

  29. My family was just in the UK where they had Cow Pies on the menu in the pub. We don’t eat cow pies in the States, thank you very much.

  30. There’s a twitter account @FacesPics for faces in things. You’re definitely not the only one. And dingleberry means the same to us Pennsylvanians. Although it has kind of picked up a secondary meaning of idiot or foolish person. ‘Cause you know how kids find fun words to call each other! 😉

  31. I would think the person who named the candy was in on the joke, hence the bears being chocolate covered, and therefore brown. I’m originally from Michigan, and I knew exactly what you were talking about…and I never lived on a farm.

  32. We, North of the Mason-Dixie line, also call hanging poop dingleberries, although it’s not specific to just farm animals. I showed my 12 year old the picture of the candy she said,”That’s perfection. Can you buy some?”
    P.S. I chuckled at your NYT joke…I wonder if they keep it locked because of jokers just like you doing it all day long.

  33. I love your green dress, but onto my topic….yes I see faces too…there’s this one tree with giant teeth and a gaping mouth right out of a horror flick and NO ONE ELSE sees it! I keep making sure it never moves or we’re in trouble. Out West (California) dingleberries mean what they mean in Texas, so it must be a North thing to mean something different….I hope!

  35. I concur with Peyton – born and raised north of Boston – and “dingleberries” are the same – and like Peyton – not limited to animals! And I always see faces. Mostly in cars, but I definitely see the plane seat faces! Although it’s a lot funnier with your captions!! 🙂

  38. I think Gummi Bears are a European-based confection…and clearly they don’t know Yankee idioms. Kind of like those wonderful English translations on menus in China. As for the faces-in-places, we’re actually hardwired to see faces in things…it’s called facial pareidolia, and there are people who study it for a living, the lucky ducks.

  39. I see faces. They’re everywhere! Since I drive a lot, I see a LOT of faces in car tail lights. But I’ve learned to just accept that electrical outlets will always be squinting at me in disapproval.

  40. Yes, dingleberries are the same. And I’ve just added that candy into my list of reasons not to go to New York, ever. Amazing how the smallest things can scar us, isn’t it? Congrats on the NY Times! They should have a better sense of humor, really. Do they not work for the people of the US like everyone else?! We are your readers, imposing, locked building! (And that dress is awesome!)

  41. If you follow Minnie Driver on Twitter, she always has loads of pictures of things that looks like faces. People send them to her all the time, because she is obsessed with them.

  42. As an ex-pat Texan in NYC, I agree that sometimes things get weird here. People in superhero costumes are some of the weirdest. (“Dinglebearies” should be chocolate-covered gummy bears.)

  43. In this post you seem unusually concerned with butts and feces. Or maybe not unusually so. I haven’t been tallying it, so I can’t produce a chart like they show on cable TV news. Also, congratulations on being in the New York Times.

  44. Seeing faces in things (pareidolia) is fun; I do it all the time.

    And growing up in California during the 60s and 70s, we knew what dingleberries were. Seeing a play on that as the brand name for a kind of candy… well, I think it’ll take more than covering them in milk chocolate to sell me on that idea.

  45. Dingleberries are the same thing up here in Canada too, and New Zealand as far as I recall, so I think someone is just really terrible at marketing. Or brilliant. Sometimes it’s the same thing in marketing.

  47. I can confirm that dingleberries are the same thing in Canada.
    Huh. Go figure. Vancouver and Texas finally have something in common.

  49. Boring conference call.
    Reading your post.
    I come to the part that says, “Don’t fuck with Iron Man when he’s pooping, y’all.”

    Me: SNORT LAUGH
    Conference call participants: Huh? what?
    Me: Nothing. Never mind. What were you saying?

  50. So fun, Jenny! And I always thought they were called “crusties” (the dried balls of animal feces). 😉

  52. When electrical sockets are staring at you, you’re not really wrong — it really is a problem. Only it might not be the one you are imagining. If you put the single dot on the top, then if the plug slips, anything falling onto the metal prong lands on the grounding part of the circuit. Instead of connecting positive to negative and getting full voltage through something that’s not designed to take it.

    Or at least this is what I was taught by the electrical engineer I married….problem is, when I just went to the interwebs now for confirmation I find that there are actually conflicting theories. But the part about things falling behind sofas….let’s just say that a lot of things fall behind my sofas so I’m going to run with it.

    No faces for me. Except smilicons. 🙂

  53. The real questions are: 1. Do the faces in the inanimate objects ever speak to you OUT LOUD ‘Cause then, well, you know, THAT’S a problem. 2. Does Iron Man get dingleberries? (And no, I don’t mean did he buy the candy.) 3. Did you get dingleberies. (And this time I do mean did you buy the candy – just to try of course.)

  54. Dingleberries always just meant “dummy.” As in “You dingleberry!”

    I am from NY state and never heard of the poop reference, but knowing that now makes me all the more happy that I used it the way I did as a child.

  56. kdcol are you from the NYC area? because I would call them crusties too. one reason i didn’t like the simpsons was that darned clown…

  59. (Oh, they are. Good, someone else thinks like me. I wouldn’t buy or consume them, but I would strongly encourage other people to do so.)

  61. We always called them dingleberries in Canada. In fact, i often call my one dog that. He has long hair. I would certainly not eat a candy called dinglebeary or however they wanted to spell it. Not a fan of gross candy

  63. Well, a dingleberry is the same thing in California as it is in Texas, so I’m with you that it was a joke pitch that the execs didn’t get … but let’s talk some more about Iron Man on his Iron Throne. Do you think there’s an escape hatch in the suit? How does Stark do his business on long flights? Inquiring minds want to know.

  64. There is a face of a mildly smug looking panda in the fake wood grain of the bathroom tile in my apartment…I occasionally have the urge to tear out all the tile in the bathroom because its creepy but it’s a rental so I cover it up with a rug…

  65. Seeing faces in everyday objects is called pareidolia. Very common, there’s even a facebook page devoted to uploading pics of them!

  67. Dingle berries are definitely a Wisconsin thing, too. Maybe it’s just city people who don’t understand them. Then again, that’s what we call them on the cats too (unless they’re turd furnuggets)

  68. What do you mean poop doesn’t taste like gummy bears?!!

    And now, I will never be able to unsee faces in my airplane seat every time I fly. Thank you, Jenny.

  69. They 100% knew what they were doing when they named Dingle Bearies. They have other tongue-in-cheek candies like “Camel Balls”, “Blue Balls”, and “Nice Melons”

  70. If we can have candy that comes out of an animal’s butt, we can have dingleberries too.

  71. I have so many questions re: DingleBearies. Are they shaped like bears? Like little poop balls? Why are they chocolate covered? INQUIRING MINDS NEED TO KNOW. (Related: I am from the North and 100000% a “dingleberry” is a poo ball.)

  72. Dingleberry means the same thing up north too – at least in Minnesota. And YES, I see the faces to. You are the best kind of “not normal” there is. All the best people are.

  73. OMG, the Dinglebearies are chocolate covered, how gross! Yes I see faces in objects too, in my neighborhood the trees have faces and watch you, tends to make you walk faster.

  74. I love that you were in The New York Times! Reminds me of the time my husband and I were visiting the Smithsonian and I proudly announced to him, upon returning from the ladies’ room, that my “dingleberries” were in the Smithsonian! He failed to see the humor.

  76. I know dingleberries both as balls of poo but also as a “nice” word for testicles. Not sure how that came about but there you have it. We are hardwired to see faces in objects, which is really weird if you think about it. Did it some how comfort our ancient ancestors to look into the clouds and see a smiley face as they were being mauled to death by some animal?!? Great now I have poo and mauling on my brain. Just in time for lunch.

  77. I do not believe the term dingleberry is limited to the dried poop balls on farm animals. I think any animal with any crusty turdlettes near the anus can be said to have dingleberries. I do not know why New Yorkers do not know this.
    They are going to be so bewildered when they are stuck with a warehouse full of these candy bears.
    “But they’re delicious! Why didn’t anyone buy them?”

  78. Hell girl, I’m just impressed you could get dressed and out of the house! I’m thinking of bathing this week…

  80. I’ve been in the New York Times too. The security guards who threw me out were surprisingly friendly and gentle.

  82. Faces in things is standard human nature. Sorry, you have to be a little bit normal, it seems. :O) Countless Tumblr blogs of them, hours of fun.

  83. In Ohio, dingleberries are just what you said. There’s a record/head shop that has been here since the 70s called Dingleberries and when we were teens who got the joke, we all snickered.

  84. if you want more fun than dingleberries go to the it’sugar website. I’m going to guess they are in on the joke. If you’ve ever wanted the Shweddy balls from SNL you have now found their home.

  86. That Iron Man appearing to flip the bird is the highlight of my day, and it’s only 10:38 a.m. I can already tell that nothing will top that image. I nominate his original pooping photo for some kind of Jenny-poll or caption contest! It’s awesome, too.

  87. Faces everwhere, yep. Even as a kid, I would see faces in the cheap lino my parents had. Nothing like peeing when the floor has FACES staring at you.

    Dingleberry…I’ve only heard kids being called that by a frustrated parent. Again, when I was a kid.

    Now I get the true meaning…and am squicked out.

  88. Northwesterner here: I’ve never heard that meaning for “dingleberry.” It has always meant a meant a stupid and/or foolish person: “Donald believed me when I told him the president was a secret ninja unicorn sent to spy on us for the Planet Zarcon. Now he’s building an anti- ninja unicorn shelter. What a dingleberry.

  90. Here in Utah dingleberries does indeed mean poopballs stuck to butthair. There are two explanations here #1 – they WANT to gross people out, or #2 – it is Irish candy and it has something to do with bears from the Dingle peninsula in Ireland. I’m going with #1 (ironically enough).

  91. OK, not only did I work in that toy store for 10 years, the New York Times building is ACROSS THE STREET from where I work now. Are you stalking me? Because that would be awesome.

  94. My Yorkie’s vet calls the little bits of yuck that form in the corners of his eyes dingleberries. Such a pretty word for such a yucky thing.

  95. In Wisconsin dingleberries refer to poop clusters also. I wouldn’t want to eat chocolate covered gummy bears anyways.

  96. Dingleberries mean the same in KS as they do in TX. Also, audiobook? Awesome! I cannot wait for Furiously Happy to come out!

  97. I see faces in lace-up shoes (among other things). I can’t buy a pair of sneakers unless the face is right as I’m looking down at my feet.

  98. The NY time pics is adorable!
    Maybe they were trying to be ironically funny with the dinglebearies?
    Poor Iron Man. He is not allowed to use the men’s room or the women’s room. We need to write to our leaders that super heroes need a bathroom. Don’t make them poop in a window for the world to stare at them!!

  101. It’sugar does that with its candies. They also have Flinging Poo and Schweddy Balls. They know exactly what Dingleberries means.

  102. That bear on the package. What’s he doing? Has that same look on his face as my little girl when she’s trying to push one out.

  103. In Canada it also means the same thing too. A picture of you getting arrested would have been good times.

  104. Just wanted to add to the love for the green dress. It’s every bit as lovely as the red one.

  105. Faces, faces everywhere! You are definitely not alone. Dingleberries sort of mean the same thing. I always understood them to mean balls or my mom used to use it to mean knuckleheads. My childhood just took on a whole new meaning.

    You were at the NYT building. Did you try Schnipper’s while you were there? It’s right next to the building. Really good food, and it’s called Schnipper’s, which is ridiculously fun to say.

  108. FYI, I just snort-laughed my way thru this blog. Thanks for that, I needed it!

  109. Dingleberries are indeed the poop that won’t come out of your butt hole. I don’t care if they are George Clooney-flavored, I’m not eating them. And congrats on being “in” the NYT! (and for not getting arrested)

  110. Ok lawd, I almost peed. That was so.funny, I couldn’t stop laughing! Best part of the day!

  112. I think dingleberries aren’t common knowledge for some reason. I know what they are, though, and…..oh wow, candy dingleberries. Well, that’s somebody’s…nevermind, I’m not going there.

    I also see faces in inanimate things. My fiancé enjoyes ridiculing me for it.

  115. Dingleberries: yep, means the same thing up North. The product manager for those candies may be looking for a new job once his bosses discover that.
    Iron Man: makes perfect sense that he would poop in a steel garbage can.
    NYTimes building: when it first opened, the horizontal bars and round holes on the facade turned out to be perfect for enabling people to climb up the side of the building… so a few people did.

    Wisely, The Times has since made some changes to the facade (and has also sold its stake in the building). It would’ve made a great promo for your new book to have a photo of you being arrested while climbing up the side of that building.

  116. I love how your mind works. Faces, Iron Man and his “private” water closet and that you not ONLY see the world from a different perspective, but share.

    Love the New York Times picture!!

    and Dingleberries are not what you would want to snack on in the North. Ewwww.

  118. New York always takes the cake for seeing “strange” (or strangely wonderful) things! Can’t wait to read your new book!

  121. Ok, so I’m not sure if you read these comments or not, but the dingleberries thing got me going. I grew up in California where a dingleberry is something you call a total moron if you want to yell out how much of a blubbering asshat idiot they are but there may be children nearby and you don’t want to be the one to teach a stranger’s 2 year old “ASSHOLE!” Also, I married a man from New Zealand, and they call the dried clumps of feces that stick to the ass hair of farm animals “dags.” In New Zealand, they tell people to “rattle your dags,” which means hurry up.

    I’m a fount of useless trivia today. 🙂

  122. Sitting in a pizzeria laughing my ass off. The guy next to me asked if I’m high.

  123. Nthing “oh, yeah, we know what dingleberries are”. And adding that we do live in a world where chocolate-pooping toy reindeer, Bertie Botts’ Every Flavor Beans and Truck Nutz exist, so I’m pretty sure that this was intentional.

  124. I’m from NYC originally. (I got out because I was a country girl in a city girl’s body. Or something.) And yeah, dingleberries are dingleberries wherever you go.

  125. In Australia, our word for dingleberry is dag. It’s now a slang term used in Australia and New Zealand to refer to someone who is amusing, quirky and likeable.

  128. I always though dinngleberries was another term for gonads. Either way, not something you want to be encouraging kids to stick in their mouth at a young age. That’ll come soon enough.

  129. I’m from NY, and while we don’t have farm animals, we do use dingleberry to refer to the poop that gets stuck on fluffy dog butts, so… yeah, still poop-related.

  130. When I was little, I became friends with a little boy from Denmark who spoke Danish and Italian, but zero English. He sent me two bags of gummy candy, one in the shape of breasts, one in different turd shapes. I wrote him a letter to say thanks, but my parents never sent it. I don’t think they wanted to encourage that kind of friendship. I’ve always regretted not keeping in touch with him, even though we never understood a word. Maybe I’ll buy some dinglebearies and think of him.

  131. I’m definitely not eating dingleberries.. tyvm… in Canada they mean balls.

  132. Oh my, I didn’t know what a dingle berry was, and I have been know to call people dingle berries. My bad!
    Your pictures of iron man were awesome on so many levels
    And you at the New York Times offices? Adorable.

  133. Dingleberries are TOTALLY balls of poop that hang from things. You don’t even have to have fur. I heard the term can be used in welding when there is a little drop of flux hanging out of a seam.

  134. A few years ago, I was staying at a hotel across the street from the NYT Building. I wanted a great picture and I waited until a reporter/journalist type came out of the builiding. It was a man, and I asked him if he had one of those little notepads on him. He did so I told him could he pull it out and pose in a way that it looked like he was asking me for help with his article for a picture. After laughing uncontrollably, he agreed.I love being a NYer!!!

  135. I’m a born and raised New Yorker, and yes, that is what Dingleberries are!

  136. I always heard dingleberries as a euphemism for testicles… So still not much better. (Grew up in NJ)

  137. I’m in California. Dingleberries mean fur-poop-hangers or balls. Soo…. yea. Love that post Iron Man did with his finger! 😀

  138. I see faces in everything, and actually have been known to stick googly eyes in various face-like places in my house. My family loves it. Well, they claim it’s creepy, but I know they can’t mean that.

  139. They are called Diggleberries in Ontario too. That is just too funny. I want some. LOL.

  141. I cannot read this when other people are sleeping. Trying to hold in the laughter is almost painful.

    And maybe it’s just the northeast that doesn’t know what dingleberries are. Or maybe it’s because both my parents were born in the south. But I’m in the northwest and I definitely know and don’t think candy should be named that. Even if you do intentionally misspell it.

  142. My gosh, you look terrific! Just radiant, despite everything.

    But New York will do that. I haven’t been in decades. The prospect seems overwhelming.

  143. No one wants to end up with dingleberries, unless of course they are clearly labeled “It’s Sugar” and use the alternate spelling “Dinglebearies,” in which case they may be tasty and nasty.

  144. As always, you were able to bring a smile to my face. Thanks for sharing the randomness that is inherent in everyday life that so many of us miss. THANK YOU!!

  146. My husband just shakes his head when I try to point out faces to him. I’ve been seeing them most of my life, & recently learned there’s a name for it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia I most often see faces in woodwork, linoleum, and trees (in the empty spaces between leaves).

    P.S. Do NOT eat the dingleberries!

  148. Sounds like we all know dingle berries to be poo. In my family, we also call candied almonds dingle berries. I think that is mainly so no one else will want any.

  149. The tendency to see faces or other things everywhere is something every human has. It is called pareidolia. You aren’t weird, don’t worry!

  150. Haven’t you ever looked at the front of an eighteen wheeler and thought, “Dennis Weaver, you’re right. They do look like malevolent assholes.”? At any rate, if you think New York is crazy, you should try Toronto.

  152. I’ve totally gotten into buildings and places I’m not supposed to by catching the door from someone else. It leads to some really interesting places! And if security chases you out, it just makes the story all that better!

  154. we just so happen to have a Dingleberry Lake where I live. Not sure why it was named that, as I didn’t inspect the local wildlife’s nether regions. It is fun to tell people that you stayed at Dingleberry Lake, though

  155. OH MY! YES! I see faces EVERYWHERE and my family think I’m odd as they can’t see them. Only sometimes when I point them out do they then see them. Phew! I thought I was the only one!

  156. Dingleberry Texas Author Takes Over New York Times. Giant Metal Chicken and Stuffed Ferret Arrested. News at 6. (It was a very good day.)

  157. Oh. Oh gawd. When the topic is “dingleberries” there should not be any tongues in “cheeks” mmmkay?

    I wouldn’t refuse, but the whole see-faces-in-objects thing is why I wouldn’t live in those little houses with the two little windows and overhangs that seem to scream “HELLO! I’M HOUSE!!!”

  158. There’s always so many comments and I’m just too lazy to read them all so this might be redundant. So here goes Well of course Iron Man takes a shit in a tin can! Where else would he go?

  159. I see the Aussies and Kiwis have already been by to explain the whole dingleberry/ dag thing. I would like to add that I always thought a ‘dag’ was a lump of shit stuck on an animal’s arse while a ‘dingleberry’ was shit stuck on a human’s arse from not wiping properly. A pre-skid skid mark.
    Unsure how ‘dag’ and ‘dingleberry’ – being terms for dried up pieces of shit – also came to be used as affectionate names for friends when they’re being silly though…

  161. There’s a face in the reception desk at my hairdresser. It looks like a rather angry cow/bull. It stares at me all through hair cuts. It’s unsettling. So yes seeing that on a place would be freaky

  162. In MN you can buy “moose poop” at the airport. Because who doesn’t want to eat little balls of chocolate that look like enormous deer shit? Then again, I suppose they could market them as balls…gross. This whole comment has gotten out of control.

  163. Grew up in Miami with Southern and Yankee parents. Dingle berries have always been known as the leftover feces in ANY butthole, not just those of farm animals. So, yeah, even human animals can have dingle berries.

    Definitely would never want to eat ’em. Then again, I don’t care for gummy bears either.

  165. huh… maybe it’s pg-igffying, but here dingleberries are the berries of the twig and berries variety. As in, “quit playing with your dingleberries!” to any boy under 8 or so.

  166. I worked for Georgia-Pacific Corporation and someone came up with an acronym for “Record Information Management” or RIM. To kick off the RIM training at work they made hand fans (like the kind made with popsicle sticks) that said “I’m of fan of RIM”. Not joking.

  167. I read comment 16 (bgarlandwood), and laughed, oh yes, ha, ha, me too, “see feces”! I continued to read the comments, and sadly over 2 dozen times have continued to read “see feces” when it should be “see faces”. What is WRONG with my BRAIN?

  168. I see faces in everything. There are a lot of cars on the roads these days that make faces at me while I’m driving (some of the new models have really evil faces).

    I think those candies are a joke, like the “reindeer poop” candies they have out at Christmas. Because some people are just that loopy. (Or they’re marketed for 12-year-olds.)

  169. My husband refers to dinglebearies with same meaning you use, and offered up a new product suggestion: chocolate klingons!

  171. Seeing faces (or feces) everywhere: HappyChairIsHappy.com

    And in Northern New England dingle berries are indeed the same: the dried feces on mammal butts, the friendly term to call some one who is acting silly or made a not-so-bright decision, and/or testicles. Context usual makes it pretty clear which you are intending 😉 usually…

  172. Just noticed that the shoes the person on the plane is wearing look like bowling shoes. Is this a thing? I accept being out of the loop trend wise, but wearing bowling shoes? No one looks good in those.

  173. I see faces in inanimate objects all the time! My sister, who lives in Ohio, will send me pictures on occasion. I even got my boyfriend into it. It’s fun.

  174. I see faces in things, too. I always figured it was an artist thing. And then I took a color design class in college and an assignment was to take pictures of the faces we saw in things! I felt validated.

  175. “I read the above comment as “Yes, I see feces everywhere.” For a second I thought I wasn’t alone. But I am. So alone.” Haha! You’re not; I read the exact same thing ^_^

  176. Iron man taking a dump on a trash can in full view of the public. I never expect that I will type this sentence in my life. I never expect I will get the chance to see the photo of it as well.

  178. I totally believe they knew what they were doing when they named that candy. “Let’s see if we can get some city folk to eat poo! Hahahahaha!!!”

    And I totally think that Iron Man is flipping those people off on the street. I would have too. Staring at him while he’s on the toilet. Shame on them.

    And why are you covering your ear in the doorway of the New York Times? Wait, did you have an earpiece and you were hacked into the security comm system? That’s how you knew they were going to arrest you!

  179. Try as you might to avoid it there will always be dingleberries in the end.
    For some reason that reminds me of a story my father told me of a city kid and country kid walking through the forest and finding a pile of rabbit pellets.
    “What are those?” asked the city kid.
    “Smart pills,” said the country kid.
    The city kid ate a handful and said, “These taste like shit.”
    “See how smart they made you?” said the country kid.

  180. Since the “DingleBearies” are chocolate covered, I’m guessing the candy company knew exactly what they were doing. And people are buying them. Yum. And New Yorkers think they are SO much more sophisticated than the rest of us…..

    Great pic of you in the NYT!!!

  182. We visited It’Sugar in Orlando, FL a couple months back and saw several wonderfully named treats, including DingleBerries, Sour Camel Balls (sour, liquid-filled gumballs), and Bunny Poo (chocolate covered cookie dough bits that do look just like large bunny turds), and Cat Butt chewing gum. My wonderful daughter bought them all. 🙂 She’s my hero.

  183. Love your blog/comments so hard but never commented until now: hours after reading this, was woken up by some wild animal tearing through my room, crashing into things and growling. Soon realized it was my cat (Blueberry) trying frantically to OUTRUN HIS OWN DINGLEBERRY. The power of suggestion.

  184. Ha! We call them dingleberries in England too. Well I do but I’m sure I speak for the rest of the population..Also, clagnuts. Which as far as I’m aware isn’t a brand of nut snack as yet but it should be. I couldn’t help notice that you can’t not say ‘dinglebearies’ without a Texas accent. :-/

  185. I can assure you that dingleberries is not just a southern thing. You did better with that display than I would have; I’d have announced loudly what dingleberries really were in a loud voice.

  186. You had me at Dingle Bearies. I’m so glad I found your blog on Humoropedia. I feel less alone knowing there’s other silly weirdos running around. Next time I see someone taking pictures of airplane seats I won’t hesitate to say, “You see the faces too?”
    Love <3

  187. Humor keeps a perspective. Why we all read you. I know I’m in trouble now. Day off work. Sent to oprah. But I don’t have a bad disease so no answer. Give me a link to others. I am trying trying. Got to make it. Too many depend on me. But tired you know?

    (This might give you help in your area: http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/find-affiliate or this organization as well: http://www.mhselfhelp.org. There are also facebook groups that offer listening ears. ~ Jenny)

  189. My offspring just shrieked with laughter at Iron Man (his favorite Avenger) pooping on a trash can and flipping the bird. Then he replicated the scenario, and being the Bad Mom, I laughed my ass off.

  190. dear jenny, no, dingleberries means the same to us yankees. but like, i remember these very crude candies shaped like genitalia. they were totally all the rage in whatever area of the city my exstepmother was taking me to at some point in the nineties. i loved them, but they tasted gross. made for the shock value and that alone. i can’t find them, but these are even more disgusting:

    http://blog.sfgate.com/sfmoms/2014/10/22/too-gross-to-eat-15-most-disgusting-candies-ever/#photo-541065

    and yes, i see faces in everything, too. it means we are seers. those two faces on the plane are ralph kramden twins openly sucking at vetriloquism.

  191. Dingleberries are the same here in Seattle too. Who knows what those New Yorkers think? 😉

  192. Confirming ShinyInfo’s comment that Dingleberries are in fact dried feces on animals in Michigan – in my household, that means a poodle, not a farm animal though.

    Question: How did Victor and Hailey “come down” to New York from Texas? Seems like that route would take a while. 🙂

  193. I have to say I love ya, you make my day every time I read anything you’ve wrote!

  194. There is no I in faces or feces, butt.. (tie it all together) Iron Face, Iron Feces, you’ve unleashed my inner 12 year old and she thanks you in between giggle gasps! DINGLEBERRIES!!!! (my face hurts from laughing so much)

  195. I always see faces in things. In fact, have you checkout out the twitter page called Faces in Things? It’s really cool and always entertaining. Dingleberries has to be someones idea of a joke. Surely everyone knows what it means. I’m from Virginia and I know so I guess someone was having fun.

  196. My only reference for dingleberry was that Arlo Guthrie sometimes used the word in a disparaging manner (as in, “Why should I sing along with that dingleberry folk song anyway?”*).

    Huh. You learn something new every day. Thank you, Jenny.

    *2:40 of The Garden Song, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QTj45cTB4U

  197. I’m Australian and I know what dingleberries are. When I was 12 it became THE word of the month in my school. You couldn’t move for kids yelling “dingleberries!” and then snort-giggle explaining what it meant. If we had access to those lollies we probably would have rioted.

  198. Thank you so much for that post. I laughed so hard I cried. I once “met” Charles Dicken’s great-great (great?) grandson as he as coming out of the unisex potty. AWK-ward. He was in full costume for a reading he was giving that night. Talk about not being able to look away.

  199. We have recently moved to Iowa, and I was shocked and dismayed to discover Dingleberry Road on the outskirts of our town! I can’t imagine what they were thinking when they named it! And I would NOT want that address, but there are some very desirable properties there. Maybe this word just means something different here??? I can only hope….

  200. I once proofread an English translation that one of our customers had done for their own website (I live in Austria and the customer was an Austrian company). The company produces jams, liqueurs, chocolates and other sweets. One of their products was chocolate-covered fruit which they had named, I kid you not, “Rabbit Shit”. I explained to them that “Rabbit Shit” wasn’t really the most appropriate name for a food product…that you actually want to SELL…but unfortunately they’d already had packaging printed and produced so it was a little late in the game to make a name change. Sigh.

  201. I thought dingleberries were testicles. Whuch doesn’t make them more appetizing.

    And my outlets always look alarmed. (Shocked? Harhar)

  205. I’m from a large city in Canada and I’ve known what dingleberries are for years. You’d think somebody in marketing might have at least googled the suggested name…

    It’s like the name started as a prank but then nobody would admit it.

  209. Look up the hashtags #iseefaces and #gretafins on Instagram. Some great examples of Pareidolia. My friend @chrismanuputty has an entire gallery of pareidolia that is really good

    Also #facesinplaces #faceclub and #firstfaceyouseerightnow.

    Have fun not seeing faces now.

  214. It’s called pareidolia – seeing faces or other things in mundane items; it’s a neurological phenomenon. I do it all the time.

  215. I was sitting in traffic the other day and was seeing faces on the cars in front of me. You know, some look happy…..some look mean and aggressive……… (sigh). No…….it is NOT just you!! 😉
    –And Dinglebearies????? Eeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww……….and I live “up North”……..

  216. I just saw this article about seeing faces in things (I totally see them!): http://mentalfloss.com/us/go/66363. I call bullshit on neurotic people seeing them more, though. I think the author of the article has a signigicant other who delights in seeing them and the author doesn’t get it at all and wrote the article to make the significant other look neurotic. Pfffft. Western New Yorkers also know what dingle berries are. Even still, a college friend of mine moved into a house on Dingle Hole Road. I mean, I don’t care if that was a big ole mansion up in there. You couldn’t pay me to live on that road. Nothing good could be happening there.

  220. Yeah, in the North of the UK, we call the dried faeces “winnets”.
    Winnet is also a girl’s name.
    So… Good.

  222. In Az we use (rarely) dingleberries as reference to balls or dried poop idiots.
    I see faces in everything esp when my head is pounding. I had an experience with ironman in Az he flipped the bird to everyone, I thought it was cuz he was hot, your pic, proves he is just an ass.

  223. I see faces in things to, and the annoying thing is, once you see it you can’t unseen it. So you’re just stuck with all of these shocked inanimate objects staring at you all day x

  227. I’m just now catching up but I have to demand that you never again use “dingleberries” and “tongue in cheek” in the same sentence ever again, madam!

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