Article #15
Name: Grade: _____/15
Your Tasks:
· Read the article
· Annotate the article--highlight the main point(s) of the article and other details you found interesting within the article, also making marginal note to coincide with your highlighting.
· Mark at least two(2) words for which you do not know the definition. You will look up the definitions and write the words and their definitions at the end of the article in the space provided.
· Write a MINIMUM of four (4) full sentences reflecting on the article. Did you have any questions about the article? Did you find anything interesting? Did it make you think of something else/similar? Did anything strike you are strange, wrong, funny, etc.?
Faulty Hatchimals, crying children lead to lawsuit against toymaker
ByWashington Post, adapted by Newsela staff
01.26.17
When Jared Winegarden bought the Hatchimal for his youngest daughter, the Clarksville, Tennessee, father felt like "Super Dad," he wrote in a review on Amazon.
"I don't want to mention how much I spent for this thing — it's embarrassing," Winegarden wrote. "I was stepping in for the 'big win.' A quest; if you will, to be the most awesome Dad ever."
His daughter, like millions of other American children, had been captivated by the biggest toy craze of the year. The Hatchimal is a fuzzy interactive toy that hatches out of an egg.
It flew off the shelves across the country. Parents waited for hours outside stores to buy them, while others paid up to seven times the sticker price on eBay, Amazon and other sites.
Hatchimals were originally listed at about $50 to $60, but the toy is currently selling at $79.99 at Toys "R" Us. Online marketplaces have asked for up to $350 for each toy.
Which Came First, The Penguala Or The Egg?
When the "big day" arrived for Winegarden's family, his daughter ripped open the wrapping paper "like a starving man tearing into a Big Mac," her eyes brightening when she saw what it was.
Carefully reading the instructions, they began to give the egg the love it required, rubbing it and waiting in anticipation to witness the toy's supposed miracle of life. The teal-and-pink-colored Penguala (reminiscent of a penguin) cooed and blinked its eyes. But alas, the batteries ran dead, and the fluffy creature did not hatch.
"We replaced the batteries, but like humpty dumpty, the hatchimal couldn't be put back into the egg," Winegarden wrote.
According to a class action lawsuit filed against Spin Master Corp. Thursday, Winegarden's daughter was not the only child faced with an utter Hatchimal letdown on Christmas morning. The lawsuit claims that Hatchimals don't always hatch, creating unhappiness in families that can range from "extreme disappointment to tragic." The class in the "class action" suit can include any person who bought a faulty Hatchimal.
"When we purchase an iPhone, we expect it to make a phone call. When we purchase a yo-yo, we expect it to come back up," wrote an attorney. He said that millions of children and families were "sourly disappointed" this Christmas because of dysfunctional Hatchimals, calling it a "bait-and-switch" scheme.
More Frustrating Than Furby
Spin Master, who makes the popular toys Etch-a-Sketch, Build-a-Bear Workshop and Tamagotchi, released the Hatchimal toys in early October, just in time for the holidays.
Hatchimals come in an egg a bit larger than a grapefruit and can be one of five different "species:" Pengualas, Draggles, Burtles, Owlicorns and Bearakeet.
Each egg, the company says, requires "a lot of love and care to hatch." It makes pecking noises and lights up its eyes in different colors to display its "feelings" — whether it's cold, upset, tired, scared or has to burp or sneeze. The egg can take up to 25 minutes of rubbing, tilting and tapping for it to begin hatching, which then can take up to 30 minutes.
Many reviews on Amazon describe positive, exciting experiences with the toy, even when the hatching took longer than expected. "Don't give up if yours isn't hatching," one reviewer wrote.
One of the company's senior vice presidents recognized that since children do not know what kind of species is inside of the egg, "they get excited about what they may get."
But this excitement was replaced with frustration and tears for many children, and regret among parents who waited for "days" to buy the toy, says the lawsuit.
$50 In The Bottom Of The Toybox
Jodie Hejduk, the lawsuit's lead plaintiff, lives in Bakersfield, California and purchased a Hatchimal for her daughter's birthday from Walmart for about $50. Hejduk and her daughter followed the instructions included in the packaging in attempts to hatch it, to no avail. The creature now remains in its egg, unhatched.
The company has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
But in a Facebook post on December 28, Spin Master wrote that "while the vast majority of children have had a magical experience with Hatchimals," the company had also heard from consumers who had encountered challenges. In response, the company said it increased its number of consumer care representatives, extended its hours and worked to prevent calls being dropped due to the holiday volume.
"We are committed to doing everything possible to resolve any consumer issues," the company wrote. "We sincerely apologize and thank everyone who is experiencing an issue for their patience."
Spin Master made an estimated $100 million in profits off the toy, attorney Ben Meiselas, of Geragos & Geragos in Los Angeles, said in an interview with Courthouse News. Still, investigations indicate that its failure rate is exceptionally high.
Scathing Internet Reviews
Reviews from angry parents on Amazon and Toys "R" Us described experiences similar to the lead plaintiff's.
"My daughter got this as a Christmas gift from her grandma," one post on Toys 'R Us read, according to the lawsuit. "We opened it and did just what the box said only to have it do NOTHING!! it never lit up never made noise nothing."
"IT NEVER HATCHED!" a different parent wrote.
"I honestly think I gave birth to my daughter in less time than it took for this thing to 'hatch,'" another mother wrote.
In Winegarden's scathing Amazon review, the Tennessee father wrote: "DO NOT BUY THIS TOY!!! It does not work."
Next Christmas, Winegarden wrote, he is buying Legos.
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