Top 5 Mauritanian Kids Toys

Tandem Model Horse Stick – Capable of carrying two kids at a nice gallop. Good tandem model horse sticks should be at least two and half times the length of a standard model stick horse. Riders must cooperate and rear rider should follow the lead of the front rider at all times. When toubabs with cameras approach, tandem stick horses are prone to fall to the ground, leaving their riders unscathed, but fleeing from the scene.[1]

Horse Tail – I admit, I don't really get this one. I'm not sure if I'm more disgusted than amused by it, but it seems to say something about how children can find ways to amuse themselves. First, a child must save 20 UM and choose to spend it on a horse tail rather than a stick of bubble gum or a cigarette.[2] Horse tail can be purchased at many fine boutiques at your local market. Horse tail can be played with immediately; it's good for both hitting things, like little sisters, or it can be slowly pulled apart, hair by hair. Loose horse hair can then get into anything, it's especially fun to pull out things like dinner, or one's mouth.

Metal Hoop and Rod – The metal hoop is placed in a small hook at the end of the rod and the child begins to run while pushing the hoop. If all goes well, speed of hoop and child increases until terminal velocity is reached and hoop makes delightful rattling sound against the road's surface. Theoretically, the child could push the hoop to Nouakchott, but it usually brought up short by a rock in the road or a speeding Mercedes coming within inches of taking his life. The metal hoops come from an unknown source and vary widely in quality. It is not uncommon to see a hoop with a break in its length. These are much harder, if not impossible to roll more than a single rotation as the push rod invariably falls into the break in the hoop. This doesn't stop kids from attempting to use it and they may en joy the added challenge.

Old Car Tire – Why just walk somewhere when you can push a tire there too? Thanks to the resourcefulness of Mauritanian children, the lifespan of old car tires can be extended almost indefinitely. Sometimes two kids will meet in the street and talk about there tires—where they came from, there they're going, what other tires that saw on their way.[3]

Detergent Bottle[4] and Condensed Milk Can Car – Does it get any more adorable than this? What do you do when you live in a dump? You find a detergent bottle, four condensed milk cans, bits of scrap metal and you build yourself a car to push around town or, if you prefer, back and forth in one spot. Best of all, detergent bottles come in three bright, primary colors, so you car can be red, yellow, or blue!

[1] Soon after writing this, I saw a triple decker horse stick. Later that day I saw another triple decker with a fourth child hanging on to the horse's tail. The head rider had the horse running in a wide circle, trying to catch it's tail and knock his annoying little brother off.
[2] UM – Ouguiya, the Mauritanian currency. Cigarettes are sold individually here and anyone, of any age, can purchase them.
[3] I saw a three tire pile up after an especially bad storm had flooded out an intersection. No one was hurt but tires and children were very wet.
[4] Further research revealed these are not actually detergent bottles, but diesel motor oil containers. They look the same, but the fact that kids are playing with and, no doubt, spilling motor oil all over themselves adds to the pure Mauritanian quality of this toy.