May 29, 2009 8:34 am US/Eastern
Wolf T-Shirt A Viral Hit For Tiny NH Company
By David Tirrell-Wysocki, Associated Press Writer
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) ―
Until recently, it was just a T-shirt with a colorful design of three wolves howling at the moon.
Now, it's a viral sensation with its own
Facebook page, videos and an exploding following that has swamped a tiny New Hampshire company.
THREE WOLF MOON
All because a customer posted a tongue-in-cheek comment on
Amazon.com saying the "Three Wolf Moon" helped make him a babe magnet.
While images of the shirt and comments about its powers sweep the Internet, employees at
The Mountain in Keene are caught up in a storm, and working overtime to make the best of it.
"We're laughing a lot more than we used to," owner Michael Krinsky said Thursday.
The T-shirt, designed by Florida artist
Antonia Neshev, has taken over the production line in the basement of a 200-year-old mill building, though it took a while for the rumbling to reach The Mountain.
HOW IT STARTED
Rutgers University law student Brian Govern posted his comment last fall, saying, among other things: "Fits my girthy frame, has wolves on it, attracts women."
Thousands responded to his comment, adding to the shirt's alleged powers.
"We didn't pick up on it," Krinsky said. "We didn't know anything was happening, and all of a sudden we were told, 'Hey, come on. This shirt is selling like crazy. Then we were told it was the number one apparel item on Amazon, and then we realized what was going on and it kept on going from there."
He said they now are selling thousands a day.
TOP SELLING T-SHIRT
At Amazon.com, spokeswoman Stephanie Robinett said the shirt, seriously, has been No. 1 since May 19, but not-so-seriously, "We can't confirm that the shirt is actually magical or has powers."
The customer comments have given the shirt a life of its own.
'USEFUL IN COLDER WEATHER'
"Unfortunately," one customer posted, "I already had this exact picture tattooed on my chest, but this shirt is very useful in colder weather."
One "disappointed" customer wrote that after wearing his T-shirt for several weeks, he was beginning to believe some of the benefits were exaggerated.
"For example, not ONE supermodel has approached me," he wrote.
The company responded that it does not guarantee wearers will become "a magnet for supermodels."
The company also has posted an account of how the shirts are delivered to them "saddled to the backs of Pegacorns (unicorn-Pegasus hybrids)," hand-dyed by monks, dragged through the ocean by eagles and dropped back in New Hampshire.
MAY CHANGE YOUR LIFE
"By wearing 3WM, you agree that your life may change in ways that could be the greatest of gifts or the worst of curses," The Mountain says.
"By wearing 3WM you give up all rights to a normal life."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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