Dipping my hand into a pool of macromolecules, aka superabsorbent polymers, aka the swimming pool I briefly installed in my apartment. Credit: THE STRANGER
As we near the end of the year, we’re reviewing some of our favorites posts from 2019. Next up, superabsorbent polymers…
Dipping my hand into a pool of macromolecules, aka superabsorbent polymers, aka the swimming pool I briefly installed in my apartment.
Dipping my hand into a pool of macromolecules, aka superabsorbent polymers, aka the swimming pool I briefly installed in my apartment. THE STRANGER

I always wanted to have a pool. But I live in an apartment on the fifth floor. And I don’t have any money.

Then I saw a film called Team Hurricane, which played at the Seattle International Film Festival and featured a bunch of young women swimming in a kiddie pool full of brightly colored little balls. These balls go by many names—water jellies, water beads, water gems—but they really only have one name on the internet: Orbeez. They’re insanely popular, especially with kids, stoners, and YouTube content creators.

The women in Team Hurricane squished the Orbeez between their toes, submerged themselves entirely in Orbeez and spun their bodies around, and opened their bras to free Orbeez that had gotten stuck in between their breasts.

I needed these balls. They would clearly be fun to relax in after a long day. Or maybe I could use them in a drag performance. If nothing else, it would be fun to touch them while I smoked weed.

Chase Burns is The Stranger's former editor. He's covered everything from gay luchadores to chemical weapons to Isabella Rossellini's favorite pets.