By Popular Request: Tea Animals

In my Friday Five post I had a photo of my breadbox, with the top covered in tea animals. Actually the animals are ceramic, they just come in a box of tea bags (Red Rose is the brand). When we lived in Minnesota, we could get the tea, but not the animals, because of something about shipping (so we heard). Now that we live in Maine, every box of tea Onkel Hankie Pants buys has a little ceramic animal in it. They come in series; I believe we're into Pet Shop now, having started with Noah's Ark when we got here. There may be Circus or Zoo animals too. A lot of our relatives here are tea drinkers, and OHP buys the tea in fairly small boxes. I think this is because it stays fresher; or else he just likes to get lots of little animals. Each time the new box is opened and a new little animal goes on top of the breadbox, there is great danger of one of the old animals falling off. Every now and then I have to move the breadbox and rescue the fallen.
Why does the Red Rose company do this? It appears to be a hangover from the days of Dish Nights at the movies and such. It sets them apart from the other teas. And, if you want a fancy ceramic pet shop, Noah's ark, or whatever to display your animals in, they will be happy to sell you one for some (to me) quite large sum. I wonder how many houses in Maine have a stash of tiny ceramic animals somewhere on a breadbox, a windowsill, or on a knickknack shelf. I bet it's a lot.