Cool toys from the past

One of this years Christmas must have toys  is the Furby, { yes  they're back }  so lets take a look at their  past

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Hailed as the Coolest toys  ever, they were certainly clever, and addictive. Made by Tiger Electronics, they vaguely resembled a furry owl with overlarge ears.



 When they first arrived, buyers didn't have much of a colour choice- often it was 'get what you're given', and people were so overjoyed to have one, that colour was the least of their worries.

The limited colour choice included black and white (the so-called tuxedo), pink and grey, grey, white, black, and grey and white.


Suddenly, everyone, it seemed, owned a Furby. It was possible to get quite .
attached to them and there were reports of people becoming really upset when their Furby 'died'
(went drastically wrong).



Unlike the earlier, popular Tamigotchi, which necessitated constant attention, Furbys could (thank goodness) be switched off- or, at least, made to 'sleep' by putting them in a dark room.



Gradually, more and more Furby colours hit the shops- tiger, wolf, zebra, frog, giraffe, flamingo and dalmatian - and others besides. In the US, especially, you could get  lots of different limited editions, including Graduation, Angel, Millennium, Liberty Lady, Easter, Santa,





President, Royal Majesty, Halloween, Racer, Jester, Valentine and Tropical Surfer. These varieties are great fun; Tropical Surfer wears sun¬shades and a sarong.

Angel has wings, a halo, harp and gold sparkles  on its fur, President is dressed in a suit with a badge and flag. Royal wears a red and gold crown and a red fur-trimmed cloak fastened with a 'jewel', while Valentine has a gold heart pendant. Some limited edition Furbys were also available in Britain.

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Furbys are operated by four AA batteries, and when first started up, they babble in so-called 'Furbish', a strange language with words such as noo-loo, mee-mee and doo-moh.




Luckily a dictionary is provided to help you translate, and after a while, you find yourself recognising certain phrases.




Furbys also tell you their names, which normally seem to consist of one or two Furbish words from the dictionary, such as 'Boh', 'Lohlah', 'Dah', 'Meemee' or 'Kohkoh'.  muttering 'worry, worry' at regular intervals, and sneezing dramatically.






Furbys have sensors to let them know when they are tickled, turned upside down, stroked, spoken to or are in bright light.




They can sing a few lines of songs, though though they dont seem to know the words and have to la la and can also dance by rocking to and fro hilarious to   watch (at least, initially) is their communication with other Furbys, as they have a very childish sense of humour.

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One will say 'joke' and the other will blow a raspberry, or say 'hide' and shut its eyes. Their voices vary slightly in pitch, and some can sound incredibly stupid, some intelligent (for a Furby), while others sound like Joe Pasquale on helium. You don't know what kind of Furby you have until the batteries go in.

If Furbys are rocked or held upside down, they say 'oh-oh', giggle inanely, and after a while, make a loud ' I feel swtJk' kind of sound. 

They can also do a great imitatlion of a ringing telephone, and a car, rasping 'brwwrai Ibrmmm' with gusto. Furbys are not capable of 'learning!' from people, they don't include a recording mechanism, and although there were rumours that the White House had banned them in case they 'overheard secrets' that fear was without justification (unless, of course, a cunning spy planted a listening device inside).

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Not everyone was happy with the craze, and there were mutterings about Furbys being a Gremlin take off.

Tiger Electronics slightly modified their creations, and at the same time fixed a plastic seal to their sides, though they didn't use the opportunity to vary the voice  same time fixed a plastic seal to their sides, though they didn't use the opportunity to vary the voice chip by adding extra phrases or new songs.

 And that was probably the root cause of the Furby decline- you bought one, played with it, 'reared it', and that was it. There were no plug-in additional chips, so once Furby reached a certain level, it could go no further.

 Let's face it, even the most clever toy loses its attraction if it is constantly repetitive.    Basically, for all its sophistication, a Furby is a soft toy that talks. Baby Furbys were introduced in 1999.

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Similar in appearance, though smaller than the adults, they came in various pastel colours. Their repertoire was slightly different and their voices more shrill. 

They also knew if their owner was a 'mummy' or a 'daddy'. Later, more colours were introduced.     Furby merchandise included a colourful plastic carry sack complete with safety straps and air vents (so that Furby could breathe), which seemed a good idea, though in practice, as you moved you jolted Furby into life making it chatter constantly. 

You could also buy Furby soft toys (buddies) and key ring Furbys containing sound chips, while McDonald's gave away minis as premiums. Their most recent campaign was in April 2001, which was combined with Shelby. 

 Today, the interactive market is still brisk- toys such as ET and Gizmo can 'talk' to each other, as well as to your Furby- but do children really want them? Fifty years ago, these items would have been unbelievable, a source of great wonder. 

Now, youngsters are used to computerised miracles that Furbys and other interactive toys are just more gadgets. Will the new Shelby models be as successful as Furbys? 

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Some people already collect Furbys, especially in America where there is so much more variety, but in general  they  are  as another toy. 

Whether they will ever become particularly valuable is a moot point. However, if you have a soft spot for Furbys, it might be an idea to look out for them now- as soon they will be gone! Toy collectors won't need to be told to keep the packaging and the instructions. Better still, try to resist temptation and keep the Furby still mint-in-box.

Furbys are not just a cool toys of their time, when  today's youngsters are grown, they  too will remember their childhood Furbys with affection, and a new collecting craze will begin.

Collectibles Coach