Escargot Kitchen Timer — It actually crawls across your counter or table as it counts down

Not only do I want one: I need one.

Spectacular.

Official kitchen timer — or at least, it should be — of the Slow Food movement.

If you want to buy one head for the iconic shop (below),

a store in Toronto that carries generally cool things and whose slogan is, "Bringing you what's hot."

They're located at 715 Queen Street West, near Bathurst Street.

But perhaps you don't live in nor plan to visit Toronto anytime soon.

You could call: the phone number is 416-364-2895.

You could visit their website but you won't find the Escargot timer on it.

You could, if so inclined, email [email protected]

That might break the logjam and get things rolling for you.

[via Nathan Loofbourrow, who innocently emailed me yesterday morning asking where he could get one; Michelle Collins, whose blog youcantmakeitup featured it; and, finally, Jill Murray (below),

a denizen of Toronto who actually has one, which her boyfriend The Delightful Rapper has nicknamed "Slimey."

We know this because Jill wrote about Slimey in her blog this past Tuesday.

"My assistant in the kitchen was Slimey, the timer who creeps. He oozes across the counter as he counts down the time," is how she put it.

Jill continued, "The Delightful Rapper is fond of winding him up, releasing him and yelling, 'Go, Slimey! Warn the others!'"

She even took a photo of her timer (below).

It would appear to me to me to be the same one pictured at the top of this post, only seen through rose–colored glasses.

If I am wrong I have no doubt Jill will let me know once she reads this.

She doesn't seem the shrinking violet type.

Anyway.

Michelle was all excited about Slimey and tried really hard to find one for her own kitchen but apparently her research team is drawn from the same brain–dead pool as mine 'cause she came up empty.

I emailed Jill for help locating Slimey's brethren after my crack research team had spent nearly 20 combined woman–hours in a fruitless attempt to find one. What a mötley crüe they are. But I suppose I deserve no better, really, all things considered.

Anyway, saint that she is, Jill emailed me right back and told me she'd purchased hers at the iconic shop.

She also gave me a link to Ikonee, the Hong Kong company that makes it.

From the manufacturer's website:

Time crawls within the hot kitchen this summer, so does this colourful kitchen timer.

OLIO™ ESCARGOT Crawling Kitchen Timer is a cute-looking, brightly-colored mechanical timer that crawls like a real snail as it counts your cooking time.

A real-life example of how the Ikonee design team merges innovative idea, aesthetics and experience into an amazingly elegant yet simple, functional household product.

An ideal gift item for all occasions and an immediate eye-catcher, thus an indispensable item in all gift shops.

Available in 6 standard amazing colour combinations and packed in attractive crystal clear boxes.

The colours are shown below but not named.

I must say, two of them really caught my eye....

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11:47 a.m. — Addendum from Jill Murray: "Cool. Thanks for the link. Mine is actually purple and mauve, which is not pictured on the manufacturer's web site. Also not pictured there are the translucent citrus-toned ones that the iconic shop is selling."