St. Paul's skyscraper raccoon spawns fan art -- and merchandise
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Updated: June 15, 6:19 a.m. | Posted: June 13, 2 p.m.
The saga of the #mprraccoon was the summer blockbuster drama we didn't know we needed. And now the hashtag will soon become a tote bag.
The daredevil brought worldwide productivity to a halt Tuesday as it scaled the UBS Plaza skyscraper in downtown St. Paul. Tweets, videos and photos of the critter took over social media.
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Some channeled their hopes into creative masterpieces:
A post shared by therock (@therock) on Jun 13, 2018 at 11:58pm PDT
A post shared by Daniella Tarantula Attinella (@_danielle_and_loop_and_laurel) on Jun 13, 2018 at 5:48am PDT
Star Tribune metro columnist Jennifer Brooks, whose homemade dumpster fire ornament went viral in 2016, admitted to staying awake all night making a felt raccoon and tower she then transformed into a mini-drama:
MPR employees were the first to realize what was happening, which led to the #mprraccoon hashtag.
And that tote bag is happening. Well, that not exact tote bag, but a tote bag.
In the middle of all the excitement Tuesday, Aesthetic Apparatus tweeted a design for a #mprraccoon tote bag. A day later, MPR announced you can get the tote, designed by Michael Byzewski, as a thank you gift after becoming an MPR member contributing $5 a month or after giving a one-time donation of $60.
And, two different T-shirts are on sale now on Public Media Market — with a portion of those sales going to The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota, which supports injured and orphaned wildlife.
Meanwhile, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum is now taking orders for — you guessed it — the #mprraccoon. But you'll have to wait to get your hands on it — it's not expected to ship until October.
How fans have immortalized the #mprraccoon
A post shared by bryan Draws (@bryan_draws) on Jun 13, 2018 at 10:29am PDT
MPR News digital producer Sara Porter contributed to this report.