51动漫

Feedback New Year Competition results

This week we publish the winning entries in our New Year Competition. The challenge was to compose a text message of no more than 160 characters, sent home by an alien who has just arrived on our planet.

The 300-plus entries we received have been entertaining and thought-provoking. It has been sobering to discover how many readers think an alien would not be impressed by Earth, and especially not by the way we humans are looking after it. This view is expressed in many entries by the simple phrase: 鈥淣o intelligent life found.鈥� Many other readers focused on climate change as evidence of this, chillingly summing it up with the words: 鈥淭hermostat broken鈥�.

A number of entries also implied that technology on our planet has gone out of control 鈥� a notion that seemed all too pertinent when the 51动漫 computer system malfunctioned on the very day of the competition deadline. Our apologies for the frustrations this may have caused correspondents 鈥� but in the end we did consider all entries, including those held up by technical problems.

Here, then, in no particular order, are the 10 winners, as chosen by a ballot among staff at the magazine.

Arrived safely. Weather chilly, but improving steadily over the next century or so. Found out why Aunty didn鈥檛 come back from her Roswell trip.

Stephen Harrowing, Flitwick, Bedfordshire, UK

Arr. Earth. Dominant species 鈥渃ar鈥�. Colourful exoskeleton and bizarre reproduction via slave biped species. Aggressive but predictable. Intelligence uncertain.

David Armstrong, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK

We followed the wormhole, and have now discovered the source of the wet socks (of the singular kind) which are spontaneously materialising on our planet.

Peter Hicks, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, UK

See pic. This one will look good on veranda. We can come back for the ones with rings.

John Alderson, Reading, Berkshire, UK

Send help! Under attack, lost half fleet already. Attackers are huge, armoured, 6 legs, well organized, show no mercy. All attempts to negotiate unsuccessful.

John McCluskey, Redwood Park, South Australia

No need to exterminate, they鈥檙e doing it themselves. Radiation level increasing nicely, prospect of large increase imminent. Warm and getting warmer. Come soon.

John Cannell, Brentwood, Essex, UK

Source of electromagnetic pollution located. Initiating steps to turn it off. Will ensure solution is permanent.

Michael Parsons, Canberra, ACT, Australia

Parallel evolution of intelligent life. One carbon based, one silicon based. Carbon form domesticated by silicon form to feed it with all its needs.

Dennis Fox, Loughborough, Leicestershire, UK

OMG you have to see how they procreate.

Justin Byrne, Dublin, Ireland

Our assumptions were wrong. Their diet is so full of unhealthy chemicals they don鈥檛 taste at all like chicken. Even their chickens don鈥檛 taste like chicken.

Yonatan Silver, Jerusalem, Israel

Thanks to the generosity of Profile Books, these winners will each receive three of its most popular new titles, Four Elements: Water, Air, Fire, Earth by Rebecca Rupp; Richard Mabey鈥檚 Gilbert White, a biography of the author of The Natural History of Selborne; and The End of the Question Mark, a compilation of questions and answers from the Any Questions Answered text service 鈥� plus a copy of 51动漫鈥榮 very own bestseller, Why Don鈥檛 Penguins鈥� Feet Freeze?

We would also like to give a special mention to two English schools, LSU The Grays Convent High School and The Heathcote School, both in Essex. Each sent in dozens of lively entries from pupils, and while none quite made it to the final 10, they had a character of their own that we greatly enjoyed 鈥� as in, for example, Luke Henaghan鈥檚 鈥淚 tried 2 tlk 2 sum ppl but they lukd at me as if I ws crazy and ran away scremin nd now I鈥檓 upset鈥�. Thanks to them and to everyone else who entered the competition.

Because of the high standard of submissions and the difficulty of choosing the best, next week we will publish another 10 entries to the competition from the runners-up.