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Hot Stuff
By PAMELA DAVIS
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 7, 2001
Toy-o-rama
The winter holiday season is no longer the only time to discover new toys. Some companies are putting products on store shelves much earlier, especially outdoor playthings. Evidence of this trend is the appearance of the first-ever spring edition of Toy Wishes magazine ($4.99). It's on newsstands now and offers editors' picks for the "hot dozen" spring toys including Wham-O's Slip "n' Slide Super Geyser ($30), Rawlings Power Pro Pitch machine ($300) and Polly the Tekno Parrot ($40) from Manley Toy Quest.
Just ducky
Hoping to be the next Beanie Baby-like collectible, Rubba Ducks arrived in stores last month. They sell for about $6 at Toys "R" Us, FAO Schwarz and Spencer Gifts and are inspired by the classic yellow rubber ducky. Designed to match their personalities, the collection of ducks features characters such as Sitting Duck (marked with a bull's-eye), Slam Duck (in basketball orange and stripes) and Duck Tape (with his own tool belt).
Personality profiles
Personology is the latest password-protected game from Girl Tech, the company that makes electronic toys specifically aimed at girls. The game uses a combination of psychology, history, numerology, tarot and astrology to reveal hidden attributes that make each person unique. Enter a date of birth and the toy gives you a personality profile. It sells for about $15 in toy and department stores.
Fishing in your pool
For those of you who will be spending the summer in the backyard pool, check out ScatterFish from Wild Planet ($20). Attach the fish to the floating home base and start the clock. Four fish launch at once in different directions. You can race against other kids to see who can dive and retrieve the scattered fish first, or against yourself to see if you beat the clock.
Shelby is smarter than Furby
From Tiger Electronics, the makers of Furby, comes Shelby, a new animatronic toy that sells for about $25. Shelby has 70 percent more vocabulary and 50 percent more memory than Furby. It lives in a shell and will close up if "scared" or "sleeping." Its moving eyes and antenna show expression, and it can tell knock-knock jokes and play games.
Here's the rest of today's Xpress
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