Bluey fans are bamboozled over the cartoon creatures’ ears(Picture: Bluey)
It’s the New Year, and everyone is still in the post-Christmas slump, so now, with all the time in the world and no social plans, couldn’t be a better time to devise wild theories about children’s TV show Bluey.
That’s precisely how some viewers on Reddit are spending January after noticing an admittedly baffling quirk of the cast of creatures: they are seemingly unable to locate their actual ears.
Every time Bluey and her pals want to cover their ears to protect them from a loud sound rather than reaching for the tops of their heads they place them around their cheeks.
They also appear to struggle wearing headphones, which are again placed nowhere near their ears and instead appear to be hugging their mid-face region.
And Reddit users want answers.
Fortunately, many of them have concocted some brilliantly weird theories, including one that was accused of being a ‘conspiracy’, by users including Science_Fiction2798.
Fans have noticed Bluey characters fail to cover their actual ears when they want to protect them from loud sounds (Picture: Facebook/Bluey)
When the characters wear headphones in Bluey, they also don’t cover their actual ears (Picture: Bluey)
According to accounts like Agreeable-Listen9436, Bluey and his pals, um, used to be human. That’s because they seem to believe their ears are placed exactly where you would find them on a person.
BaojinBE was among those compelled by theory, adding: ‘Well, Bingo did say that one MAN did went to mow a meadow with his DOG.’
Some, however, had more academic reasons for ‘ear-gate’. As KirimaeCreations explained: ‘They’re stopping the noise by stopping the bones/areas that vibrate and translate the sound. Hence why headphones are worn lower, they’re conductive headphones, not traditional sound ones.’
Others, though, believed it was a stylistic choice to make the cartoons more relatable to children.
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Yalexito said: ‘But to answer your question, my take is that it’s probably easier to animate and allow kids to understand easily their actions since that’s what we will do.’
Agreeing, Evil_Weevil elaborated: ‘Anthropomorphic cartoon logic. They’re meant to represent humans, so in most ways, they react like humans. And hands over the side of your head is a much more clear indicator to us that they’re trying to block their ears. It’s like the universal sign for “too loud”. If they put their hands on top of their head where their ears technically are it would look like they were trying to shield themselves from a falling object or something.’
However, it could just be that there is absolutely no rationale behind it at all. Perhaps BenzieBox has hit the nail on the head by saying: ‘People really overthink this cartoon. Maybe OP is just being silly but I see so many posts about people questioning things. It’s a cartoon. It’s meant to be silly.’
Bluey is not the only offender: Arthur also wore his headphones in a peculiar fashion – aka not remotely in proximity to his ears.
Bluey is not the only offender as Arthur also wears headphones in a peculiar fashion (Picture: Arthur/Cartoon Network)
Over the years, the Bluey fandom has been left wondering about many unique quirks in the show.
In December, Americans were left perplexed after Bluey and her family wore paper hats for Christmas dinner, a tradition in countries including the UK.
Other details that have left viewers scratching their heads include bin chickens (the Australian slang for the Ibis bird), colourful sunscreen, and even a cricket bat (some viewers once thought the sporting equipment was a bottle of wine).
Bluey is streaming on Disney Plus.
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