Feeding Frenzy in Aisle Five!

Lori Lancaster | October 31, 2005
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Jackie Mason | November 1, 2005
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Megan Baxter | November 1, 2005
My mother told me at one point that some paediatricians were using Tickle Me Elmos to show children who'd been diagnosed with epilepsy what they looked like when they were having a seizure.

Erik Bates | November 2, 2005
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Scott Hardie | November 19, 2005
I remember those mad rushes for Cabbage Patch Kids, not that I witnessed one. It was crazy. Same thing for Beanie Babies. Same thing for Nintendo 64. Same thing for Tickle Me Elmo. You wonder if it's a genuine shortage or if it's calculated to happen so the high price seems justified. :-\ Parents who have actually done this could say for sure, but I can't help suspecting that the real reason for the mad rush is the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses factor and competiting with other parents at something that seems like a tangible definition of how good a parent you are, your ability to procure such a doll.

A couple of years ago, when Wal*Mart offered those $30 DVD players and inspiried a mad rush, inevitably someone "fell down" and filed a lawsuit. Whether it was genuine or not (hot coffee!), why would Wal*Mart want to put themselves in that position and risk a big settlement? Is the promotion really worth it? This could be handled by a line, or a lottery. Sheesh. (And what a waste, too. I bet those cheap-ass DVD players broke within two weeks.)

I believe we discussed this long ago, but Tickle Me Elmo seems like one of those dolls that psychologists are always saying are unhealthy for kids: You press a button, you watch it do something. There's no play involved, and certainly no imagination, only passive entertainment. But, whatever. The thing was pretty funny.

Lori Lancaster | November 19, 2005
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Scott Hardie | November 20, 2005
I haven't had good experiences with them myself. My $50 Omni lasted three months before it refused to play any more. I replaced it with a $30 Apex that went three weeks before it started skipping constantly even on discs without a scratch on them; I put up with it for a few months before getting a $200 Playstation2 that has lasted me years since and still plays fine. I miss the fun controls on the Apex, especially the zoom-in feature, but the PS2 works, which is the most important thing. :-) Soon enough it will be time to upgrade to Blu-Ray anyway.

Kris Weberg | November 20, 2005
I just watch movies on my iMac. Haven't found a disc it won't play, unlike every DVD player I've ever tried.

Scott Hardie | November 24, 2005
The latest stampede: At a Maryland Wal*Mart for Xbox 360s. (link) If I'm reading this correctly, the customers devised their own number system for purpose of orderly shopping, but the store manager opted instead for the mad rush approach, leading to people being trampled and the store having to close. I wonder again if the publicity is worth the trouble.

Amy Austin | November 24, 2005
That's just ridiculous... and one more reason to dislike Wal-Mart. "First-come, first-served" -- instead of an orderly plan... probably even just because it wasn't their own idea -- now that's just typical trained-monkey attitude.

Jackie Mason | November 29, 2005
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Kris Weberg | November 30, 2005
I don't support Wal-Mart for entirely different reasons, which anyone here should be easily able to guess.

(Waits for facetious guesses.)

Michael Paul Cote | November 30, 2005
You are opposed to hyphenated names?

Aaron Shurtleff | November 30, 2005
Um...because you have an iMac, and Wal-Mart doesn't sell anything that you can use with an iMac?

Jackie Mason | December 1, 2005
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Amy Austin | December 1, 2005
Retarded self-service checkout register/computer touchscreens (and the people who couldn't seem to operate them if they weren't anyway)?

Aaron Shurtleff | December 1, 2005
No, it's crazy there at 3 AM, too. Just a different sort of crazy! :)

Scott Hardie | December 5, 2005
About the 360s, best I can figure is it's store policy. But it's a stupid policy.

I buy all of my censored music, corporate-approved books, and firearms at 3am. Doesn't everybody?

Amy Austin | December 5, 2005
Why... yes, of course... absolutely!!!

[noting time and thinking of making the 15-mile drive for a pack of Winchester shells right about now]