Dying for a Nintendo Wii

Ever since I saw demos of Nintendo's new Wii, I've totally coveted them. I've been on the lookout for one at local stores as well as online... you know, for a joint birthday present for Margaret and myself (since we're both Aquarians). I'd be willing to buy it, but if I could win it, it would be even better, however there ARE limits. Check out this article from the internets:

Woman Dies After Water Drinking Contest
SACRAMENTO A 28-year-old woman died of water intoxication after taking part in a radio station's water drinking contest to win a Nintendo Wii video game system, the coroner's office said.

Jennifer Strange's mother found her daughter's body at her home Friday in the Sacramento suburb of Rancho Cordova, California, after Strange called her supervisor at her job to say she was heading home in terrible pain.

"She said to one of our supervisors that she was on her way home and her head was hurting her real bad," said Laura Rios, one of Strange's coworkers at Radiological Associates of Sacramento. "She was crying and that was the last that anyone had heard from her."

Earlier Friday, Strange took part in a contest at radio station KDND 107.9 in which participants competed to see how much water they could drink without going to the bathroom.

Lightweight! Try drinking 96 oz. of Diet Pepsi in one sitting. She must not have trained properly!

Initially, contestants were handed eight-ounce bottles of water to drink every 15 minutes.

"They were small little half-pint bottles, so we thought it was going to be easy," said fellow contestant James Year of Woodland, California. "They told us if you don't feel like you can do this, don't put your health at risk."

Ybarra said he quit after drinking five bottles. "My bladder couldn't handle it anymore," he added.

Geesh! That's just over a 32 oz. pop! The size of a McDonald's MEDIUM drink. Oh the shame and humiliation of a thimble-sized bladder.

After he quit, he said, the remaining contestants, including Strange, were given even bigger bottles to drink.

"I was talking to her and she was a nice lady," Ybarra said. "She was telling me about her family and her three kids and how she was doing it for kids."

Talk about eternal guilt for those children. "My mom DIED trying to get us a Wii!"

The winner of the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest was promised a Nintendo Wii video game system.

What a perfect name for the contest... although it conjures up different images... plus I'm sure that the length of time that some guys could hold on to their wee would exceed the attention span of the audience... and couldn't be televised.

John Geary, vice president and marketing manager for Entercom Sacramento, the station's owner, said station personnel were stunned when they heard of Strange's death.

"We are awaiting information that will help explain how this tragic event occurred," he said.

Which is station owner-speak for "That's what we say when we're trying to cover our asses."

I think I'll just keep looking to find a Wii from a store.