April 2, 2024
The Washington Post Peep contest is back.
From 2007 through 2017, readers were invited to submit pictures of Peep driven dioramas. The first decade of winners reflected the news and tenor of the times - including a Peep mine rescue in Chile and Occu-Peep DC. Then America entered a dark four year period. From 2017 through 2021 the Peeps sat silent in their cellophane packaging. Peeps, we were told, were not novelty candy to be enjoyed, glued into shoe boxes, and sometimes microwaved for sport. They were to be feared or loathed as members of the Peep state, out to distract us from the real candy that really mattered. There were reports of people being Peep-shamed. Families quietly Peep-jousted in their homes, shades drawn to keep out prying eyes. People ate Peeps in the dark, afraid or unable to openly share their Peep joy. Other local media outlets tried to keep the Peep voice alive, but it wasn’t the same.
In 2021 the Post brought the contest back on Tik Tok. America returned to Peep normalcy and entered a period of renewed Peep hope. A sugary neon pink and yellow dawn broke over the nation’s capital. The Peeple had spoken, they wanted their contest back. The Washington Post responded. Novelty candy puns die in darkness, Peeps are again in the light. Washingtonians again proudly let their Peep flags fly.
Take a few minutes away from studying and check out this year’s winners, a pleasant break from the stress that is the news, the end of the semester deadlines, and the closing weeks of the English Premier League season.
I look forward to celebrating next year’s winner, the theme of which I assume will be SMPeepA.