h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Hamsters, The Who, The Where, And The What - A1041472
Author: Zaphod Beeblebrox - U226723

Hamsters oooooooooooooooh

A good start, but it does end somewhat abruptly!

"broad dylight" may be better as 'direct sunlight'

You might like to include a link to this:
http://www.hampsterdance.com

'tis a bit of a classic.

annoys the hell out of me that they can't spell 'hamster' though

Hi. The Entry reads nicely. (sense a but coming?) But...

Are you serious about the Capybara (sp?)?

The part about putting a Hamster in charge will have to be deleted in a potential Edited version - However, I think the country I live in could only thrive if a Hamster was in charge...

There are some first-person bits in there. (Now, since I know you are a 13-year old newbie, I'll explain what the matter with this is: The Edited entries are supposed to be somewhat like encyclopaedia Entries - ever seen first person bits in an encyclopaedia? They avoid using the first person so that the text can be read anywhere at anytime by anyone and still be correct or at least give the impression of factuality. Using first person gives a personal touch and binds the information to the one giving the information. Encyclopaedias don't want that.)

The points I mentioned above are not to be taken as personal criticism in any way. The Entry you wrote is quite good, otherwise.

I never liked Hamsters, they never seemed to be animals you could play with - I mean it lives there in its cage and every now and then, mostly at night, it goes out to run in that strange running barrel and that's it. We lived in a house with a big garden (we had cats and dogs). Maybe I always regarded Hamsters as pets for the appartment people. Maybe I felt uncomfortable locking those animals into those tiny cages...

Well, getting OT here...

FF

There's a lot of good stuff in this entry and with a bit of work, it should become part of the Edited Guide. It does need some work, though.

Capybaras are not a type of Hamster. They are normally considered to belong to the family Hydrochoeridae, but are sometimes placed in the family Cavidae, so they could be considered a type of Guinea Pig.

The bit about a hamster running the country is interesting and amusing, but is not the sort of thing the editors want in the Edited Guide, so you'll have to cut it out. You could put it in a separate entry if you like and submit it for publication in The Post, h2g2's newspaper.

It's coming along very nicely

I'm fascinated that hamsters only started being kept as pets in the 1940s. Who started it? And where and why?

Also I'd like to hear a little more about the other types of hamster. Just a sentence or so for each telling me about its particular characteristics.

Ouch Hamsters - many a nasty bite i have received from a vicious hamster. there is a common misconception (like rabbits) that they make great childrens pets - they dont, they are agressive and bite alot, resenting being handled (obviously there are exceptions but you are better off with a guinea pig)

Anyway back to the entry.
I agree with the points already made.

Perhaps you could add something about the gestation period of them (Syrian hamsters have a different gestation period to Russian hamsters for instance), average litter size, life span etc.

A little known fact is that they have a poor concept of height. let them run around a table and they will walk off the end. I have practiced this at work but unfortunately i had to catch them

As there is no entry on hamsters already then there is definately room for one.

Mort

A1030519 specifically about the Syrian Hamster is now in Peer Review.

Is there any chance of an update on how you are doing with the suggestions offered so far on how to improve your entry?

'A good start, but it does end somewhat abruptly!'
Rather like a hamster.

It does need some more work doing to it: I think it a bit premature to state that 'now you know all there is to know about these cute fluffy creatures'. They don't live very long, and I often think that the main point of hamsters are that they're great for teaching children about the uncomfortable inevitability of death. Having kept them as a kid, I know that they are in fact not exactly ideal pets. They are asleep during the day, and when they wake up they can be rather antisocial. A hamster wants to live in a hole in the ground, by itself.

Have a think about these points and those that the others have raised.

Cheers
FM
Scout

Is this still being worked on?

According to the author's personal space, he's currently on vacation. But, also according to his personal space, he's a scout -- which hopefully means he will know better than to abandon his entry here in PR.

-- Mikey

And of course, as of today there is an entry in the Edited Guide on Syrian Hamsters -- and this entry overlaps in content in many ways with that one.

See A1097246

ZF, are you still working on this?

ZF?

ZF seems to have a habit of abandoning entries here in PR.

Propose a move back to entry, as there is already a fine piece about Hamsters in the guide, do no real scope for a move to the FM.

Seconded.

Add it to your list. I know you want too.


Geggs