Who would have predicted the rise of the
towel animal? This form of shipboard origami -- towels shaped into
animals -- is featured in Carnival Cruise Lines new TV commercials.
And now the
creatures are the subject of a how-to book brought to you by
Carnival.
The towel animal is
a big deal for Carnival. Cabin stewards for years have been folding
passengers white bath towels into shapes that resemble monkeys,
frogs and dogs during their evening turndown rounds.
When the passenger
gets back from dinner, the show, the casino or the bar, theres an
awww, so cute! towel bunny, usually wearing that passengers
sunglasses, on the bed.
Then, the passenger
may try to take the towel bunny apart in order to learn how to put
it back together again. This could result in a new bunny -- or,
more likely, a messed-up towel as the passenger says, Howd they ...
howd it ... oh, I give up.
Thats where the new
book comes in: It includes 40 designs with pictures and
instructions for creating a main body, a head and a tail (when
appropriate).
Add sunglasses and
a button nose and voila! Its a bunny.
Our guests have
been asking for years for a manual on how to make towel animals at
home, said Carnival CEO Bob Dickinson.
And its true that
the folded towels are sometimes a topic of conversation in
Carnivals dining rooms, along the lines of: what animal did you get?
I admit that I have
tried to take the towel animal apart. And I have never succeeded in
putting it back together.
So I resolved to
read the book and try to make towel animals at home.
I got out the
towels and started pulling the terrycloth this way and that. And I
realized why I was never able to do this during the cruise: It
takes practice. Instructions such as fold the triangle backwards
(backwards which way?) are tricky.
Still, after a few
tries I was able to put together a frog, a duck and two
rabbits.
Carnival Towel
Creations is available for $12.95 onboard Carnivals ships, either
in the Formalities shops or from a cabin steward.
To contact
reporter Rebecca Tobin, send e-mail to [email protected].