05/26/2026
Small things can hold enormous meaning.
These hold childhood. The specific feeling of spinning with the helicopters until you fall down laughing — the dizzy, grass-stained, can’t-catch-your-breath kind of laughing.
This is one of those pieces that stops people at shows.
Someone picks it up, and before they’ve even said a word to me, they’ve already turned to whoever is next to them. Do you remember playing with these? I see people light up. I hear about grandma’s yard, about a specific best friend, about a summer that felt endless.
I always ask what people call them. Almost everyone says helicopters. Some say whirlybirds. A few say whirligigs. No one — not once — has ever called them by their actual, technical name, which is samara.
So I want to know: what did you call them?
Drop your answer in the poll — and tell me in the comments if you have any special memories of them. I could read these all day!
