Furby
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About
"Furbies" (singular Furby) are robotic toys created by Tiger Electronics (a then recently acquired subdivision of Hasbro) that were extremely popular in the late 90s, being the "must have toy" immediately following it's launch.[1]
Origin
In 1998, Tiger Electronics released the Furby, a robotic toy resembling an owl with ears and covered in fuzz. The toy was incredibly popular during its first three years of production, selling more than 40 million units[1]. The Furby marks the first successful domestically marketed robot. Due to it's large popularity in the late 90's, it is often seen as an aspect of 90s Nostalgia. However, Unlike many other things affiliated with 90s nostalgia, it is frequently seen in a much less positive light, often seen as a source of Nightmare Fuel for some. The toy was also noted as being seen as a potential security threat by the NSA, and were banned from the Fort Mead headquarters due to the fear they would record confidential conversations and "people would take them home and they'd start talking". [2] However, it was later clarified by Tiger Electronics that Furbies do not actually have the ability to record anything.[5]
Spread
On October 14th, 2013, Tumblr user "caseyanthonyofficial" (later changed to the name "theproblematicblogger") uploaded a text post stating that he was kept awake as a kid by voice in his room saying "play with me", later realizing it was a Furby saying this. In a year and a half this post gained over 260,000 notes [3]
On February 10th, 2014, Tumblr user "piglii" posted a picture with a story about a screaming furby his cousin left to watch him over Skype. In a year, this post gained over 160,000 notes [4]
Long Furby
The earliest mention of Long Furby was posted on January 10th, 2018 by Tumblr[5] user furbyfuzz. That day, the blog's owner published an illustration of a Furby with an elongated torso. The post (shown below, left) received more than 485 notes in eight months.
Several months later, on May 14th, the account published photographs of a modified Furby doll with a long torso. The post (shown below, right) received more than 27,000 notes in three months.[6]
Several media outlets have covered the popularity of Long Furby, including Vice, [7] The Daily Dot [8] and more.
Examples
Search Interest
External References
[2] BBC.com- World: Americas Furby toy or Furby spy?
[3] Tumblr- theproblematicblogger
[5] Google Documents: Ocala Star Banner- Furby it for me to pass along unsubstantiated rumors
[6] Fuzzy Friends – I don’t?Know how to feel???? About my latest…
[7] Vice – The Short History of Long Furby – VICE
[8] The Daily Dot – These long Furby projects are the stuff of Furby fans’ dreams
