GOP Butt Plugs Are Accurate 3D Renderings Of Gallup Poll Data

These are 3D renderings of each GOP candidate's vote-approval rating in this year's presidential campaign.

They're also functional sex toys.

Matthew Epler had run out of ideas when his telecommunications professor at New York University gave him the assignment of representing data in a way that doesn't bore the average Joe to death.

That is, until an ad for butt plugs popped up on his computer -- he swears he's not a creep and was on a music site.

"The first thing that came to mind was, 'Hey, that's a line graph,'" Epler told The Huffington Post. "I found [in the butt plug] a way to represent data beyond just staring at a screen."


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A 3D graph idea was born. Epler took data from Gallup's website and created line graphs reflecting the changes in voter approval for each GOP candidate: Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Michelle Bachman and Rick Perry. He took the data to a sculptor who helped him design the molds.

The result: "Grand Old Party" butt plugs.

"Of course everybody in class looked at me like I was crazy," he said. "But when I brought the final casts to class and passed them around, people loved it."

Epler, 30, decided each plug's height based on the length of each candidate's presidential bid, which is why the toys representing Bachman and Perry are so short. "Mr. Huntsman is absent," he wrote on his catalogue. "His ratings were too low to yield a form that could support its own weight."

And for just $350, you can have your own set of silicone candidates. Single pieces are $65, except for Perry or Bachman, whose toys are only $45.

Epler's not changing his career path anytime soon -- his deviation into sex toys is all in good fun.

"I can't remember the last time I bookmarked a database and actually went back," he said. "We need to find a way to change that because data is powerful."

Need lube for these new toys? We've got a debate of presidential proportions between the founders of Baconlube and Honey Lube -- choose your favorite.

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Comments

[satyrday]

07:36 PM on 05/21/2012

Romney's approval is much too low to effectively plug any butts.

It's the Seamus episode all over again.

[EyeDeas]

01:57 AM on 05/21/2012

Well I hope he got an A on this. This is the first time I've ever seen something like this done.

[littlebrowngirl]

11:34 PM on 05/19/2012

Rick Santorum : tell me more.

[solar diablo]

09:03 AM on 05/19/2012

For the first time ever, Romney scares me more than Bachmann.

[mithrilsolider]

02:57 AM on 05/19/2012

i didnt read the article, i have just noticed alot of misprints on washington post, and i wanted to see if it actually was an article, that appeared to guage things in bitt-plug form, wow.. and you cant say F^#k on television?

[standish]

12:06 AM on 05/19/2012

I find it fascinating the number of outraged moralists who have SOMEHOW managed to find this article out of all the hundreds of articles on this webiste and have migrated here and actually FORCED themselves to read it and leave a comment. It reminds me of the little old lady who phones the police to complain about her neighbor who is parading naked in front of his window and when the police arrive and cannot even find a window except one in the distance, she hands them a pair of binoculars.

[jeffrow63]

04:08 PM on 05/18/2012

Made my day! All their candidates were very well represented here.

[westend1]

02:22 PM on 05/18/2012

Leave it to Andy Campbell to get to the bottom of the story. He is a true hp journalist. He will follow every story no matter what dark hole or how tight the spot gets. He just drills down and down to get to the ultimate climax

Good job Andy hp is proud!

[Andy Campbell]

03:52 PM on 10/16/2012

I just found this comment today, and it's my favorite. Truth. +1

[PuppaX]

01:52 PM on 05/18/2012

Well, the polls have been saying that the GOP could come from behind in 2012.

[loopsparky]

03:56 PM on 05/18/2012

Without all of the superPAC money, they might have been in arrears.

[MyNameIsMickey]

01:08 PM on 05/18/2012

Not even appropriate for "weird news". Just pornographic silliness. Thanks Huff for continuing your comprehensive coverage of important news.

[PuppaX]

01:51 PM on 05/18/2012

Why is this pornographic?

[MyNameIsMickey]

02:09 PM on 05/18/2012

Taste differs. I find it pornographic, I don't really think I need to explain why. Nor do I think it needs to be reported on in a venue visited by children. But hey, thats me. If you don't find it offensive, all I can say is God Bless America and its freedom for diversity of thought.

[Danny Helms]

12:30 PM on 05/18/2012

This example shows you just how disgusting and immoral this country has become.

[philp71]

12:46 PM on 05/18/2012

and yet for some reason you clicked on the article and then made a post about it. you must not be that offended

[JohnFromCensornati]

01:03 PM on 05/18/2012

I could give you lots more, but they would be examples of hypocritical, holier-than-thou bible thumpers.

[JayInDallas]

12:28 PM on 05/18/2012

This simply couldn't be more appropriate. Thanks for the chuckle on a Friday!

[lukeflynncdc]

12:23 PM on 05/18/2012

I don't suppose much humor would have been found in this had this been applied to the DNC or Obama statistics. Matter of fact, had it been used to describe Obama's compain, it would be considered vile and racist - but because its a list of white GOP conservatives (please note Herman Cain did not make the list) for some reason find humor in it. I don't care what your political interests are - those of both sides should be offended not only that Mr. Campbell has nothing better to write about and that HP would even print it. This may be a political statement on the surface but look below the surface and it says more about our humanity. Oh and by the way. Mr. Campbell. Sure, we all believe you were on a "music" web site when you got this idea. Heaven knows that the manufactures of sex toys sell them on music web sites. Really?

[8xInfinity]

11:37 AM on 06/02/2012

It wouldn't have been as funny because no one else is running against Obama in any realistic way. This year, the primaries are all about the Republicans.

Also, how can a buttplug be racist?

If anything, consider this: there are 6 buttplugs shown, plus Huntsman is mentioned as not having enough data, and you mentioned Cain (depending on poll data used, it's possible he suffered the same fate as Huntsman with data that didn't support a functional model). That's 8 people, 6 of which are white males. If you wanna talk racism or sexism, look no further than that. White men make up roughly 35% of the population, yet they seem to rule pretty much every aspect of government. Even in the nomination period, they effectively have double the representation. When it comes to actually being elected, the numbers are even worse. The Republicans have the whiter, male-er politicians, as well as the party more opposed to gay rights, so I really don't mind them getting the buttplug treatment.

[Emilybare]

11:46 AM on 05/18/2012

Just when you think the news can't get any lower, they do.

[TXASGUN]

11:55 AM on 05/18/2012

YEP................

[Newly Minted]

11:43 AM on 05/18/2012

Hilarious! *INSERT*...umm...joke here.