Furniture shopping can be boring, but Dallas-based journalist Steven Noviello had a lot of fun when he discovered a life-changing pillow.
Noviello, who is a journalist for Fox 4 News in Dallas, was at the Nebraska Furniture Mart with his friend Michael Shippy, a chiropractor in Texas.
The pair discovered a sequined pillow called a Mermaid Pillow that shifts colors when you re-position the sequins by stroking them.
“Came across these changing ‘mermaid’ pillows at Nebraska Furniture Mart,” Noviello wrote to his Facebook followers as he started livestreaming the find. “Amazing or horrifying?”
Here's how it works:
Each sequin has a different color on its front and back. When you move the sequin to face in a different direction, you see a different color. The reversible sequins are also positioned to easily flip from one side of the other, making drawing on the fabric with your hands easy.
Thousands of people started to tune into the five-minute livestream to watch as Noviello and Shippy monogrammed the pillows and played with different designs, Noviello told BuzzFeed News.
“It’s called the Mermaid Pillow because you can change it like a fish into a woman,” Shippy joked during the video. “They’re $149, but you have to realize that it’s probably 1,000 different pillows in one. So it’s really pennies on the dollar.”
The video went viral.
So far, nearly 30 million people have watched the pillows change before their eyes. Over 460,000 users have shared the video, which currently has over 226,000 likes. A GIF from the video even went onto Reddit's subreddit /r/OddlySatisfying.
The creator of the pillow Aviva Stanoff reached out to Tech Insider to say the pillows are from her site, where they retail between $59 and $150.
"As a textile designer that specializes in innovative home accessories, I am delighted and flattered that my pillows are causing such a ruckus online," she said. "We introduced these four years and to have this happen this week is amazing, surprising, and magical."
Because of the immense interest, Noviello also found a store called Bling in the New Black claims to sell similar pillows in 16 different colors, including “mermaid green and green pearl” as well as “equal and silver.” Right now, it’s on sale for $99, not including shipping, for a 20’’ pillow.
If $99 is too steep, there are cheaper versions of the pillow on Amazon ranging from $38 to $55, depending on the brand.
These reversible sequins are gaining in popularity recently in women’s clothing, but this could be a game-changer for home decor.
Like Shippy said, think of the possibilities!
Meanwhile, Noveillo is still amazed how interested people are in the pillows.
“I’ve been a TV journalist for almost 20 years, I have six Emmys sitting on the shelf,” he told BuzzFeed. “[And] the most watched piece of video that I will probably ever produce in my career is about some pillow.”
