Stop thief!
Rio de Janeiro is notorious for street muggings, corrupt politicians, ruthless militias and Kalashnikov-toting drug traffickers — has a new public enemy: stuffed animals. Or, more specifically, the joystick-controlled claw machines that dispense them. On Wednesday, Rio police were carrying out 16 search warrants targeting the machines that create excitement among the city’s children and adults alike. But police said in a statement that claw machines defraud users who believe scoring stuffed animals to be a test of skill. In fact, they are games of chance — just like slot machines — and therefore illegal, according to the police press office. Officers seized claw machines, laptops, tablets, cell phones, a firearm and — yes — furry friends. It marked the second such police crackdown, following another in May during which officers apprehended 80 vending machines. Not only were those machines stocked with counterfeit plushies, but subsequent analysis of their programming found winning pulls were permitted only after a pre-set number of attempts, police said in their statement That programming isn’t disclosed to naive users, including children liable to blow their pocket money on what’s effectively a crap shoot. Claw machines can be found in Rio’s shopping malls, subway stations, supermarkets, arcades and toy stores.
Among Rio’s claw aficionados is Alessandra Libonatti, 41, who has played for nearly three decades. She remembers the machines causing a stir when they first appeared in the city; she had only seen them before in movies. These days she tends to play once a week, whether alone or at the mall with friends who share her “peculiar” hobby. She likes the low-investment adrenaline rush and, by her own account, she’s a talented “clawmaster” who has honed her techniques to maximize success, from scouting the stuffed animal landscape to precise positioning of the claw. She treasures a manatee with jaguar spots that she pulled in on a trip to the nation’s capital with friends. “When I pass by a machine, I give it a look to see if there’s a stuffed animal that makes it worth it to play,” she told The Associated Press. “Because it’s not always worth it; sometimes it’s clearly a waste of money.”
Most U.S. states consider claw machines games of chance and specifically exempt them from gambling statutes, as long as they comply with certain rules specific to those states. According to industry officials, it’s in arcades’ best interests to have customers win. They say that’s the only way to keep them coming back. The nearly 13,000 stuffed animals police detained in their May operation were initially destined for destruction, but a request from state lawmakers found favor with a local judge, who spared them from their doom. Instead, police donated the plushies to families who lost their homes in the massive floods of southern Rio Grande do Sul state, particularly children in shelters.
Stuffed humor
A little girl is having a tea party with her teddy bear…. “Would you like anything to eat Mr. Bear?”
The bear responds: “No, I’m stuffed.”
Vending machines kill more people than sharks.
I’ve never even seen a shark use a vending machine.
My Kit-Kat bar got stuck in the vending machine at work…
…gimme a break.
So I just watched the music video for Radioactive, and if you think fighting stuffed animals are weird…
Imagine Dragons.
September 5th Birthdays
1990 – Kat Graham, 1996 – Caroline Sunshine, 1950 – Cathy Lee Guisewite, 1940 – Raquel Welch
1952 – Michael Keaton, 1992 – Shandar Keynes, 1970 – Dweezil Zappa, 1929 – Bob Newhart