Zhu Zhu Pets

Squeaking, scurrying little electronic hamsters! Zhu Zhu Pets became the toy everybody was hunting for at Christmas 2009.

Cute, furry little hamsters that squeaked, scurried around the floor, and seemed to have minds of their own. Give them a little space and off they'd go - running around, bumping into things, backing up, and heading off in another direction. And in 2009, suddenly everybody seemed to want one.

Zhu Zhu Pets were introduced by St. Louis toy company Cepia. The original hamsters included Mr. Squiggles, Pipsqueak, Num Nums, and Chunk, each with its own "personality." They could run around on their own, make noises, and react to their surroundings. Add tunnels, an exercise wheel, a hamster ball, a car, or other accessories and you could build an entire little Zhu Zhu hamster world. Reporting at the time describes the toys scooting, cooing, and navigating their accessories.

The timing couldn't have been much better. Zhu Zhu Pets sold for less than $10 when plenty of families were watching their spending after the recession, and by Christmas 2009 they had become the toy everybody was trying to find (we actually had two or three running around our house at that time, including a Mr. Squiggles). Stores sold out, waiting lists grew, and the electronic hamsters that normally sold for around $8 or $10 were showing up online for many times that amount. TIME magazine called them the hottest toy of the year and reported that $8 Zhu Zhus were selling for around $60 on the secondary market.

The original Zhu Zhu Pets craze eventually faded (like most toy crazes, every year it's something new), but for Christmas 2009 those little electronic hamsters were everywhere - except on the store shelf when you actually went looking for one two days before Christmas!