Costco Fans Are Cracking Up Over This 'Creepy' Children's Puzzle

In case you missed it, Costco has its own puzzle. Available online in both 500- or 1,000-piece versions, the Dowdle Studios-made puzzle depicts a view of the warehouse store, filled with happy shoppers and the various departments, from the immense aisles to the food court. The description notes that the detailed image is "full of surprises," and indeed it is: Some eagle-eyed users on Reddit spotted one particular surprise that has people in hysterics.

Among the throngs of upbeat customers is one lone, unsmiling child, dressed in an apron and holding a muffin tray. His rather despondent facial expression has led many Redditors to joke that Costco must be employing unhappy children in its bakery department. "Can we talk about the creepy child bakery worker in the Costco puzzle?" the original post reads, along with a zoomed-in photo of the kid. U/cocoacowstout suggested a new sign for Costco to put in its stores reading, "Unsupervised children will be put to work." U/North_South_Side offered, "Our artisanal muffins are proudly made by semi-supervised orphans," while u/pedroah joked, "The tears add a bit of salty flavor that is sometimes needed for sweets." And in a nod to the current labor shortage, another commenter said, "Costco needs to take any age worker they can get."

A couple of Reddit users, however, suggested that there could be a more innocuous explanation behind the creepily sad child in Costco's puzzle. One noted, "Must be a nod to the kids that dress up like that for Halloween." That comment took a few people by surprise, with one person replying, "Kids dress as COSTCO EMPLOYEES for Halloween? I'm really getting old." Others agreed, with u/logicalphallus-ey noting, "I think there was a halloween costume from a few years back with kids dressed as demo table people... Could be reference to that?" Another suggested that perhaps the child was included because Costco allows employees to participate in "bring your kid to work" days.

One commenter joked that the figure isn't a child at all. "That's an actual Oompa Loompa. Costcos all have a bunch of them in the back. That's what keeps prices low," said u/lesmiles248. However, it wasn't just the crying bakery child that got Redditors' attention. Some found the entire puzzle to be a little strange to begin with. "This puzzle is giving me some weird religious culty vibes with everyone acting like they're having the best freakin' time of their lives. I mean, I love Costco, don't get me wrong, but not this much," one user wrote.