Having a Ball

Have you ever parked your ride, enjoyed your concert, game or performance, then walked out and been like, "Dude, where's my car?"

Happens to us all the time. Whenever we go to the opera.

Yeah. We know what you're thinking. We're overdoing it on the pinot.

No. Problem is, these days every Mercedes looks the same.

Luckily, someone came up with a solution: Happy Balls antenna balls. You can get a pig, a princess, a cowgirl or a fireman. A skull, a sun, a devil or an angel. Or your favorite college football helmet. We were hoping for a pet rock (see our photo) but no luck.

If you've got your own small business, you can get a custom order at HappyBalls.com and hand out antenna balls as a promotion.

Georgia-based Antenna Balls is one of the industry pioneers. Its products are now available at Wal-Mart, Circle K, Hot Topic, Walgreen's, 7-Eleven and lots other stores. AntennaBalls.com has so far sold more than 500 million antenna balls around the world. The site has more than 10,000 members, who subscribe to a newsletter to stay up to date on the latest soft-foam offerings.

Products like Happy Balls are part of an $18-billion-a-year promotional industry. Not surprising, when you consider that one antenna ball will run you $4 to $7.

Seven bucks?! For that we could get another glass of pinot.