The craze has swept Japan, flowed through Hawaii and is raging on the mainland. Tamagotchi!
In case you missed it, the Tamagotchi is Bandai Corp.'s electronic "virtual pet" chicken that lives on your keychain and wakes you in the middle of the night for feeding or comforting. Mistreated Tamagotchi become deranged or even "die" from the neglect. (The U.S. model can be easily reset so you can try again.)
Prices for Tamagotchi have risen as high as $500 - $800 in Japan for select models. Locally, the white and clear blue ones are pretty pricey in their own regard at $80 - $120. When you can get one from a retail outlet, they cost $15 - $25, but usually the purchase involves a wait of two to four hours. The peeping wonders sell out in a matter of hours or minutes, when they're available.
Kids love them, some hate them and schools have banned them. We've got them! And we'll give one away in each of these age groups, youngest gets first pick.
8 and under: One Tamagotchi
9 through 13: One Tamagotchi
14 through 18: One Tamagotchi
Over 18: One Tamagotchi
Contest rules: Enter your best haiku poem about Tamagotchi. (Haiku poems consist of three lines; the first line has 5 syllables, the second line gets 7 syllables and the last line gets 5 syllables.) Here's one, for example:
Small colored oval
Cheeping warns of chick's anger
Plastic obsession
Fill in this form in the online Features section of starbulletin.com
and submit it by hitting the "Enter" button below.
Entries only accepted through this online form. You must fill in the entry form completely. Limit one entry per person, real names only; no entries under a nickname will be accepted. More than one person may enter per e-mail address.
Traditional 5-7-5-style haiku, English-language entries only.
The Star-Bulletin reserves the right to disqualify any entry it deems inappropriate. The Star-Bulletin reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or similar value. Judging will be done by Star-Bulletin staff. Judges decisions are final.
Entries must by received by midnight, June 30, 1997, Hawaii time. Our web server time- and date-stamps all entries automatically; these will determine eligibility. Winners will be announced July 4, 1997 in starbulletin.com.
Information: (808) 525-8646 or write to webmaster@starbulletin.com
Contest Entry
First, Last Name:
Street Address:
City, State, Zip:
Country:
Daytime Phone: include area code
Evening Phone: include area code
E-mail address: Your Age:
Tamagotchi Haiku
Here is my Tamagotchi Haiku to be
entered in the starbulletin.com contest: