The Think Room

In case you missed the five-foot botanical ball swinging from a flagpole on our building, we thought we’d bring it to your attention on the less-festooned forum of our blog. The leafy beast measures five feet around and, we believe, is the largest in the world*. The agency was split. Nearly half of us were voting for the world’s largest Yule log, and some were advocating for a 32-foot gravy boat, but the mistletoe won out.

What’s not to love about turtlenecked lovers doing the dance of the tongue elves beneath a berried weed? Seems that mistletoe captivates Americans, even with its spotty past and bizarre Euro-pagan leanings. The enchanted plant, Phoradendron flavescens, is really a poisonous parasite that attaches itself to a host tree and sucks the life essence from its core (not unlike love itself). Upon the full moon, Druids used to cut the mistletoe from the tree, pray for prosperity and slit the throat of some white bulls with a golden sickle. How festive. Europeans would hang mistletoe above the door to ward off witches, but also believed it to be a strong aphrodisiac and key to fertility. So naturally Olson wanted in on the fun, and safeguarding our entrance from an onslaught of horny witches is never a bad idea.

The next time you’re near Loring Corners, we hope you get in the Druid spirit (minus the bull sacrifice) and give someone a peck on the cheek while looking up at our mighty mistletoe. Cheers.

*Totally unconfirmed.