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Culture & Religion

Zhu Zhu Pet!

The hottest toy to hit the shops this Christmas looks like a cross between a hamster and a Furby.
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What are all the kids after this Christmas? Well apparently a small motorized and multicolored rodent called the Zhu Zhu. “Looking more like a child’s furry slipper than a real hamster, the Zhu Zhu seems to have the same kind of sensors that make the Roomba vacuum cleaner work, so when the critters are dropped into their habitat (sold separately), they appear to navigate about as well as a living rodent. There is a level of artificial intelligence in the Zhu Zhu’s OS and it can make over 40 noises depending on the stimuli. The little Zhu Zhus appear to have minds of their own as they dart around the room, zip up the ramps of their habitat and ride in their own little cars. It’s actually a pretty amazing toy and unlike real hamsters won’t poop, smell funny or procreate furiously! There’s only one problem with the Zhu Zhu Pets: there aren’t enough of them to meet the demand. Predictably, they’re showing up on EBay and via Amazon Marketplace dealers at vastly inflated prices. But it’s not like the Zhu Zhu Pets are an endangered species, so you might want to just chill until they show up again on the shelves of your local retailer at their normal $9.95 list price.”

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