Speaking Strange Thing (Furby)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Furby
Date:	29/03/04 (410 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Less expensive than they used to be

Disadvantages: Reasonably annoying

Furbies, if you haven't seen one or think it might have been something else, resemble a cross between an owl, a rabbit and a mechanical skeleton requiring AA batteries- although don't hold me to that, it has been a long time since I murdered a Furby and the batteries may well have been AAA. They come in a number of fur tones which are usually based around nature but which you could always paint pink if you liked that sort of thing. Male and female varieties are available, and if you buy two of them they will interact with each other, as demonstrated by the oh-so-witty Chris Evans on that TFI programme which wasn't brave enough to reveal the swear word in its title. He's a monster, Stu.

This Easter, why not buy a Furby? well, there are several good arguments, but the recent price drop in some places adds another advantage to this incredibly popular toy.

Although they have a reputation for being very annoying, which is understandable if you have to hear someone playing with it all the time, Furbies are quite easy to shut up. Simply covering their eyes for about a minute or soothing them with rubs on the back will eventually make them sing a lullaby, something which I cannot help but link with a resounding "Yes! Thank God." The Furby won't wake you up in the middle of the night either, as I know from personal experience; my brother recevied one as a gift last year and when he got bored of it, the Furby sat still on a shelf for six months until it was accidentally awoken. Thankfully, but also confustingly, all it said was "need sleep again."

Furbies require someone to interact with them, and it helps if you understand what they are saying. Their language is known officially as "Furbish" and it revolves around them saying things like "may may" a
nd "kah boo way," all of which should be detailed in an English-Furbish Dictionary which is much easier to understand than the English-Klingon Dictionary I received as a Christmas present several years ago. Qa'pla!

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Some facts about the Furby, taken from the Habsro website (www.furby.com):

- Top Toy for 2 years running
- 12 million sold (that's this many zeros - 000000)
- Banned from the Pentagon due to learning ability

There's also a fact about the 12 million Furbies circling the Earth 700 times if they were laid end to end, but that's just an unnecessary selling pitch. I'm sure no parent will be impressed by the Earth-circling abilities of Furby sales. Anyway, the money required to engineer such a monumental task would be irresponsible use of Government funds that could be used to feed the starving chilldren next Christmas or something, so shame on you Hasbro.

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I personally have no qualms about treating a Furby for what it is; some plastic and gears with fluff and eyes covering it, however I know there are many people that would think of reporting me to the RSPCA for taking out the batteries and effectively 'killing' it. The Furby's got a reset button as well, just in case it ends up learning your company's top secret stategy or the name of a mistress called out during sleep. It's not like Johnny 5 anyway, it's not advanced enough to be alive.

The ability of the Furby to learn English is one of its major attractions, although it's hard to tell whether this has worke
d. I am guilty of hearing the toy say something along the lines of "me listen," following which I would shout a number of blue words at it, but so far there has been no cigar. Another disadvantage of the gift could be a theoretical Furbydiction taking place in which the child may not want to go to school, preferring to play with his battery operated pal. No cheap shot double entendres from lookaroundcafe2 please, it was obvious what I meant.

If you were thinking of buying a Furby for a child this Christmas, they're probably a lot cheaper than the £19.99 they used to charge, and it could be a good gift. Basically like buying them a hamster, but you don't have to change the wood shavings or cope with the inevitable death. They can be annoying but if you're a fan of cute things, or ever collected soft toys, you'll probably enjoy seeing a child react to it. Just be careful what you say around it.

Summary: Furby