The toy to get when you want to horrify children
As the father of two, I see a lot of toys. And as I'm accused of being slightly immature (I like to think of it as boyish charm), I take great interest in really cool toys.
So when I get the chance to see a new toy concept, I'm all over it. While perusing various Web sites--purely for work, I assure you--I came across Karten Design's bizarre concept for a toy it calls Epidermits (presumably because OMGWTFBBQ?!?! was already taken).
Another Seth Brundle teleportation experiment gone awry? Nope. It's a toy. For kids. Ones you might even like.
(Credit: Karten Design)And you thought the Furby was creepy-looking.
I showed it to a handful of co-workers, and the unanimous reaction was, "What the hell is that?"
Well, here's Karten Design's explanation for creating Epidermits:
"In a world where the value of life decreases daily, where boundaries between real and artificial are increasingly blurred, comes the toy that will truly confuse kids and rob them of any remaining sense of the natural."
Well, you can't argue with that, now can you? Imagine the look of absolute horror when a child opens up one of these at a birthday party. Imagine the terrified cries. Imagine how much the bills for therapy will be.
These techy toys are fully functioning organisms that can be customized with tattoos, piercings, hair, Sharpie marker, what have you.
If caring for Epidermits is too much to handle, or if you have to go to the store, you can also force them into hibernation by popping them in the fridge. Handy, no?
Before you hop in the car to get one, remember that this is just a concept for now. Whether it will end up in a toy store, well, one can only hope.
(Via Boing Boing)
Jeff Sparkman is a copy editor at CNET who also writes about goofy and retro gadgets and toys for Crave. In his spare time, he obsesses over pop culture ephemera and shares the finer points of superhero lore with his two kids, much to his wife's chagrin. E-mail Jeff. 
