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Motivation Quote by Stephen Baker

"Of all the toys available, none is better designed than the owner himself. A large multipurpose plaything, its parts can be made to move in almost any direction. It comes completely assembled, and it makes a sound when you jump on it"

About this Quote

The joke lands because it flips a familiar hierarchy: you think youre shopping for something to entertain a pet, but the punchline is that the most reliable, ergonomic, endlessly customizable toy is you. Baker frames the owner as a product with specs - "large", "multipurpose", "completely assembled" - borrowing the language of consumer design to mock how seamlessly humans volunteer for the role. Its affectionate, but it also needles the ego. We like to imagine we train animals; this line suggests were the ones being optimized, nudged, and conditioned into providing enrichment on demand.

As an athlete, Baker is tuned to bodies as instruments: joints with ranges of motion, weight that can be climbed, a voice that becomes feedback. "Parts can be made to move" reads like a wink at physical control and responsiveness - the dog (or cat) doesnt need a fancy gadget; it needs a willing system that reacts. The detail "it makes a sound when you jump on it" is the comedic tell: pain and laughter collapse into the same squeal, revealing how caretaking often involves consenting to mild indignity.

In 1960s consumer culture - peak plastic, peak marketing, peak household gadgetry - the line also drags the idea of the perfect toy. No manufactured item competes with a human who provides motion, attention, and drama. The subtext is an oddly tender admission: pets dont just want objects, they want us. The owner-as-toy is a gag, but its also a portrait of companionship as mutual use.

Quote Details

TopicWitty One-Liners
SourceHelp us find the source
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Baker, Stephen. (2026, January 16). Of all the toys available, none is better designed than the owner himself. A large multipurpose plaything, its parts can be made to move in almost any direction. It comes completely assembled, and it makes a sound when you jump on it. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/of-all-the-toys-available-none-is-better-designed-128332/

Chicago Style
Baker, Stephen. "Of all the toys available, none is better designed than the owner himself. A large multipurpose plaything, its parts can be made to move in almost any direction. It comes completely assembled, and it makes a sound when you jump on it." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/of-all-the-toys-available-none-is-better-designed-128332/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Of all the toys available, none is better designed than the owner himself. A large multipurpose plaything, its parts can be made to move in almost any direction. It comes completely assembled, and it makes a sound when you jump on it." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/of-all-the-toys-available-none-is-better-designed-128332/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

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About the Author

Stephen Baker

Stephen Baker (born August 30, 1964) is a Athlete from USA.

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