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

What a great article. Thank You.

I hadn't realised these were so long lived. I do however recall the craze, with news pictures of American women storming toy shops to get hold of them. A particular memory is that of an outraged a parent recounting that a middle-aged woman had grabbed a doll from the hands of her child in the middle of the store.

I wonder if those crazed middle-aged women still have their CPK collections? Perhaps they're all on 'Beanie-Babies' now instead?

A friend of mine had one of the CPKs, a boy with a loopy hair style. I never really saw the attraction though, and hey, with Tomsk (the Womble) and 'Bunny' the rabbit there would have been no room on the end of my bed anyway.

There's always a mad rush for one must-have toy in the UK at Christmas - Tracey Island, Buzz LightYear, Playstation 2 and Furbies all come to mind. I guess we're all the product of an advertising driven consumer culture. I've often found that kids have as much fun playing with the box as they do with the toy anyway.

And what's the deal with 'NRFB' - that's just too sad. Toys are meant to be played with, not boxed and stored for investment.

Welcome to rampant capitalism and consumer culture. Sad, innit?