Elmo – Boy or girl?
Nov 1st, 2006 by Lilian
Last week I pondered over Winnie The Pooh gender and so many of us moms actually thought Winnie is a girl bear until we searched further. Then, someone gave me another trivia question – Is Elmo male or female?
Seriously, I don’t know eventhough I know the names and special characters of Sesame Street like Count who loves to count and of course, Cookie Monster who loves to eat cookies. So, I had been curious if Elmo is a boy or a girl? Of course, he should be a boy. But then, eventhough we refer to Winnie The Pooh as he, we still thinks Winnie is a girl.
I googled more about Elmo and found this site on Wikipedia about the Elmo mania that happened 10 years ago.
Tickle Me Elmo is a child’s toy from Tyco, introduced in the United States in 1996, becoming that year’s top fad. Bright red in color and based on Elmo, a Muppet character from Sesame Street, when squeezed, Elmo would chortle. When squeezed three times in a row, Elmo would begin to shake and laugh hysterically. On its back is a velcro access slit, inside which the batteries are located.
There was a small controversy after the release of the doll with parents groups that misheard one of Elmo’s phrases. His “Hug Elmo” phrase was misunderstood by many as “Fuck Elmo”. The voicing was revised so that the phrase sounded clearer and unmistakable.
In 1996, the Tickle Me Elmo was the “Must Have” toy. Many parents literally fought other parents in North American toy stores to purchase one of the toys for Christmas. The short supply of the toy, due to unexpected demand, meant that stores hiked the price on the dolls drastically. Newspaper classifieds even sold the plush toy for hundreds of US dollars. People reports that the $28.99USD toy fetched as much as $1500.[1]
A clerk at the Wal-Mart in Fredericton, New Brunswick was among those injured by “Elmo-mania”. A crowd of 300 stampeded into the store on 14 December 1996; spotting him with one of the remaining toys, he “was pulled under, trampled—the crotch was yanked out of [his] brand-new jeans.” According to People, the clerk “suffered a pulled hamstring, injuries to his back, jaw and knee, a broken rib and a concussion.”[2]
The vibrating laughter produced by the Tickle Me Elmo uses the same motorized device found in many cellular phones and used for vibrate mode.[3]
Oh wow, that’s one big craze over a little toy! That was 10 years ago and I suppose with the kids all grown, it is time for another round of Elmo-mania with children again. Will the Elmo TMX, i.e. Tickle-Me-eXtreme be another one of those hottest Christmas gifts?
The new Elmo doll, announced at the American Toy Fair 2006, is called TMX (meaning Tickle Me (Elmo) Ten or Tickle Me Extreme). The full look of the TMX doll was not revealed until it debuted live on ABC’s Good Morning America and arrived on store shelves on September 19, 2006. Even the box it comes in is designed so that the doll can not be seen without purchasing it. A preview flap is included on the box , but upon opening, you see Elmo’s eyes. He says “Ah, ah, ah, ah! No peeking!” and giggles. It requires six AA batteries (which are included), and costs approximately $40USD. Toy experts say that the delay is unprecedented, with only a few people in the media allowed to preview the product, all signing confidentiality agreements. In a promotional clip, Jim Silver, co-publisher of Toy Wishes magazine says “The first reaction I had was, ‘Where are the wires?’ Because I didn’t think anything like that could move on its own.”
Check out the cool video and the box that looks like a steel chest that Elmo comes in on elmo tmx
website. I showed to my kid and he laughs just watching the video. Hmm….I wonder if I can get it here in our country?