There are few rational reasons to wait in line. Movie tickets are sold on the Web days before a film opens. Amazon promises not to run out of the latest Harry Potter book. Big-box electronics stores will keep the hottest gadget in stock until the next hottest gadget comes out. Yet some subatomic force aligns aficionados into queues. The truth? It's not just about being first. It's about being there, about playing with a PSP handheld before the reviews hit, about blogging on the ending of Half-Blood Prince. Anyone can be a consumer. But a few dedicated souls want to participate, to own a piece of history, however small. If that means pulling an all-nighter in the freezing rain when the iPod phone comes out, well, the pup tent's already packed.
- Adam Rogers
credit Getty Images
Halo 2, November 8, 2004. New York, New York.
credit Getty Images
PlayStation Portable, March 23, 2005. New York, New York.
credit Getty Images
Star Wars Episode III toys, April 2, 2005. Sterling Heights, Michigan.
credit AP
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, July 16, 2005. Sitka, Alaska.
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Why's Everyone Standing Around?
