The origin story of those inflatable wavy-arm tube guys
Did you know that a renowned artist from Trinidad named Peter Minshall created those inflatable dancing tube guys you see displayed so prominently at car dealerships and outside cellphone stores? Yes, those wacky, waving arms and incredibly happy face have brought joy and dismay to many and were originally showcased at the 1996 Summer Olympics (see photo below).
But the story gets a little complicated as the business partner that Peter Minshall tasked with helping him create the inflatable tube guys, a man by the name of Doron Gazit, ended up patenting the inflatable men and to this day gets money from its sales. Meanwhile, Minshall gets nothing. According to this wonderful 99% Invisible podcast about the inflatable men, Minshall has no ill-feelings towards Gazit nor towards the continued sale of the inflatable men.
This Slate article has more information, but more importantly, tons of videos of these wacky inflatable tube men.