We’re not sure exactly how they do it. And we probably don’t need to know how. All we’re certain of is that the Message Bean is one interesting item.
Open the can, add some water, put it in a bright location, and a week to 10 days later a big bean plant will pop through the soil. Etched into the bean will be one of three messages– “Thank you,” “Good luck” or “Happy birthday.”
“I haven’t read anything or talked to anyone who’s willing to give up the secret,” says Sara Fishman, owner of Cheeky Fine Lingerie, 658 Central Ave., Highland Park, a specialty shop that offers the Message Bean for $18.
She says customers are using the bean, manufactured by SMP New York, in a variety of ways.
“Kids are absolutely mesmerized by it,” she says. “They give the ‘Happy birthday’ one to their kid for his 8th birthday and it becomes a real family event as they sit around and watch it grow. They’re sending it to their college kid, ‘Good luck’ for finals. Or to their friends as a ‘Happy birthday’ or ‘Thank you’ for car-pooling my kids. So it’s a gift for any age.”
