A Boy Becomes a Man

I have a running gag with several friends about the imaginary pool boy we share. He appears at each of our houses as needed for entertainment. Given that we live in British Columbia, Illinois, and Virginia, the pool boy travels a lot. The friend in British Columbia actually found "Grow Your Own Cabana Boy" toys. ("He cleans. He goes home on the weekend. He's Built ... and by the way ... he's straight.") A cabana boy is not a pool boy, but it's probably the closest we can do. You may remember these toys from your childhood days or those of your children. Here are the INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE from the package back:

Place your grow toy in a large container of room temperature water. Your grow toy may take up to 10 days to grow completely. Watch how it changes as it transforms up to 600% its size. Remove from water and it will slowly shrink as it dries. Your toy can be grown again and again.

Those are the large-print instructions. There are also some small-print ones:

The larger the container of water the better your toy will grow. The growth is calculated as a total increase in mass and volume. As your tow grows it may distort in shape. This is part of the fun and will correct when fully grown. The slimy, icky texture is normal and harmless. Your toy may take up to 10 days to grow completely. As the toy grows the paint fades. Darker color will restore when toy is shrunk back to its original size.

Here's where we started back at the beginning of February. Cabana Boy was about an inch and a half tall. He took to water like a fish. When offered the chance, he jumped right in.
I brought him up for air and clean water periodically. In the interest of science, I also measured him from time to time. After three days ... A week after that ... After six more days ... Eight days after that ... And eight more ... At the same time, when compared to the original packaging ... I have no photographic evidence to present, but he is shrinking a bit more quickly than he grew. He is also experiencing some of the same contortions shown in the photos above.

In conclusion, was he built? Heck, yes! Did he clean? Unfortunately, no. Is he really straight? That's for me to know, and you to find out by getting your own Cabana Boy.