USB Plushies: When Trends Go from Bad to Worse

We’ve spent the year cataloging the weird, wonderful, and frequently whacked world of USB-borne devices. The latest to be filed under “Whacked” is the USB Plush Animal. Released by Imation Japan, the USB 2.0 drives have 128MB of capacity inside of a wee plushy dog, hippo, or gator. They sell for 3,480 yen (about US$30). Is it just me, or do you also get hysterical visions of some housepet going feral over one of these, a.k.a. some poor sap’s accounting files or corporate report. And then the ensuing embarrassing vigils during evening “walks” with Rocco in an icky attempt to try and “recover the data.”