[UA] Austin Texas and the Ordo Corpulentus

[Xavier]

Guess what
This conversation raised my curiosity and guess what I have found :
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/29toys.html
Is anyone of you responsible for that ?

Xavier

BLUE MYSTERY MEN
Plastic army invades Round Rock
Mystery toy figurines popped up about a week ago.

ROUND ROCK - Tiny toy men have invaded Round Rock.

Little plastic soldier and police officer figurines, to be exact. Nearly a
dozen of them are hiding out along two blocks of Main Street, glued to
garbage cans, stuck to bases of lampposts and on window sills.

City officials and business owners in the historic downtown area say they
aren't sure how long the miniature soldiers have been keeping watch, maybe a
week or two. And no one seems to know who put them there.

Ginger Huggins, who owns the Silk Cocoon gift shop on Main Street, said she
first noticed a plastic toy soldier on the garbage can outside her store a
couple of days ago.

"I was sweeping outside, and I threw away the dirt, and there he was looking
at me," Huggins said Friday, laughing.

But most others downtown, and even city officials, were oblivious to the toy
invasion.

A closer inspection of the area reveals that the plastic army was once much
stronger: Broken-off feet on bases and globs of glue are all that remain of
some of the toys.

Nancy Yawn, director of the Round Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, saw
them for the first time Friday. It's an entertaining little mystery, she
said.

"He looks like a good guy," Yawn said, after bending down for closer
inspection of one figurine. "He has a star on his hat."

It's not clear whether the person who placed the toys could face any
penalties or what they would be.

City officials haven't been actively removing the toys, said spokesman Will
Hampton, who hadn't heard of the plastic squadron until a reporter called.

So far, he said, it's just kind of amusing.

"It didn't cause great concern when I announced it at the directors' staff
meeting this morning," Hampton said.

And no one really knows what the pranksters who placed the toys were trying
to do.

Internet searches don't yield any hints, and Yawn said she couldn't think of
any local publicity stunts that could explain the toys.

"It's funny," Huggins said. "Maybe there's some deeper meaning behind this,
and we just don't get it."

khumphrey at statesman.com; 246-0053