Anthrocon, World’s Largest Furry Convention, Comes to Pittsburgh. Toadsly Investigates
Posted by: Toadsly
on Jun 24, 2011 
Well, PGPlussers, “Furry” fandom is coming to town this weekend. Furries bill themselves as anthropomorphics fans who dress up like cartoon characters, or fantasy creatures. Furries have many subcultures, but most of us are familiar with fursuiters – people who like to wear animal costumes. Wait a minute! I’ve just spotted one getting into a mica teal ScionXB. I’m knocking on the driver’s window….its opening…here comes my startling and exclusive interview:
Toadsly: Are you heading for Anthrocon 2011?
Furry: Wow, Sherlock! Nobody gets nothin’ past you. Say, aren’t you a furry?
Toadsly: Nope. Just a talking frog.
Furry: Whatever! What’s your fursona? Mine’s Squirtosaurus.
Toadsly: My name… sorry, my fursona is Toadsly. Squirtosaurus is kinda provocative. Ya know in a sexual way.
Furry: Not if your childhood nickname was “Squirt.”
Toadsly: Was yours?
Furry: Nope.
Toadsly: Isn’t it hot in that dragon costume?
Furry: Only if you wear something underneath it.
Toadsly: Do furry conventions culminate in sexual orgies? Like on some TV shows I’ve watched?
Furry: This one won’t. It’s a classy affair. Furverts, as I like to call them, are in a minority. But they do exist. They are usually plushophiles (people who are sexually attracted to stuffed animals), and they enjoy having sex with their costumes on. Hey, it’s better than bestiality.
Toadsly: Yikes, bestiality! Nothing scares an innocent young frog like that horrible word! What’s this I hear about furries wearing diapers?
Furry: You’re talking about babyfurs. They’re furries who enjoy being baby animals and many wear diapers. Some enjoy having their diapers changed by caretaker furries. To each his own!
Toadsly: If most furries aren’t into kinky sex, why is there so much furry porn on the Internet? I got over 24,000,000 results when I Googled it? And it’s mostly hentai (cartoon) porn.
Furry: Well, if you Google peeing porn, you’ll get 103,000,000 results. That doesn’t mean most people enjoy peeing parties. It just means they’re curious. Same with furry porn, I suppose.
Toadsly: Great point! I’d better let you get going. Thanks for all the info. Anything else you’d like to add?
Furry: Just that Pittsburgh is a beautiful city, and most furries adore it. By and large we're just like you. Nice people who like to recreate dressed in animal costumes. Why don’t you drop by and give it a try?
Toadsly: No thanks. Halloween, for me, comes but once a year. Ribbit! Ribbit!
Subscribe to this comment's feed
ceejai, June 24, 2011 - 07:26 PM
Human proclivities are a strange and wonderful thing. Who knows the whys and wherefores? A world full of straight missionary position types would be a real snoozer.
ceejai, June 24, 2011 - 08:00 PM
Course, Anthony Weiner may wish his urges were more boring, eh?
Toadsly, June 24, 2011 - 09:24 PM
I enjoyed researching "furries." Many are scientists & artists. Sounds like it would be a lot of fun to interact with them. Socially, not sexually. You're right about human proclivities making the world more fascinating.
Thanks for reading my fluff!
ceejai, June 24, 2011 - 09:29 PM
When I go to Pirates games, I stay away from that Parrot-guy. Don't know where his beak has been and whether there are head lice hidden in the plush.
Toadsly, June 24, 2011 - 09:38 PM
I'm not sure about their sexual orientations. I wondered if drug use was rampant. Imagine being strung out in a friggin' animal suit. Sounds like a sweet trip. Woof! Woof!
ceejai, June 24, 2011 - 09:53 PM
Steely doesn't engulf anyone's scalp in his massive beak. One of Sewickley's resident artists had a bit of scandal involving drugs and fur at the ballpark. He's been gone for a while. Don't know where he went.
Closed up in a hot fur suit while high sounds like a good route to a panic attack!
Toadsly, June 24, 2011 - 10:10 PM
Mascots have a tough job in hot weather. They must be in terrific shape!
My favorite mascot is the Eat'n Park Smiley Face. Yum!
thescarletpumpernickel, June 25, 2011 - 11:11 AM
(As in the scene in the Simpson's, when one of the kids kissed a girl, and another exclaimed "That is so gay".)
thescarletpumpernickel, June 25, 2011 - 11:15 AM
As to their suits, aren't some air-conditioned, like the astronauts suits? I believe that they are at Disney World.
thescarletpumpernickel, June 25, 2011 - 11:16 AM
Like carrying your own personal sweat lodge around with you.
ceejai, June 25, 2011 - 03:38 PM
My favorite mascots are Milwaukee's Racing Sausages and our own Pierogies.
From wiki--
On July 9, 2003, Randall Simon, then the first baseman of the Pittsburgh Pirates, hit the head of a runner's costume with a baseball bat. The tap didn't hit the actual head of Mandy Block, who was wearing the Italian Sausage costume, but it did knock her over, and she took the Hot Dog down with her. The Polish Sausage helped the Italian Sausage up and all sausages finished the Race. Simon was arrested and paid a fine, and was suspended by Major League Baseball for three games. He later apologized. Block asked only that the offending bat be autographed and given to her. Simon obliged. Since that incident, T-shirts and other memorabilia popped up with the now infamous words, "Don't whack our wiener!"
The young woman inside the sausage suit said in so many words, I'm fine. What's the big deal. Get over it. A very admirable reaction in my opinion.
Toadsly, only your green lovliness could hop off the lily pad and do such excellent reporting. Mr ciejai and I were just discussing those furry visitors to our city. There were many burning questions left unanswered by the P-G story. We couldn't make head nor tail of plushophile motivations until we read your blog post. Most sincere thanks for fleshing out this story!