# I am thinking about buying some furbies **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 5, 2006, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919 "2006-12-05T09:10:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/1 "2006-12-05T09:10:10Z")
I noticed a couple boxed a day or so ago for ten bucks apiece, mainly cause I wanted to hack the furbie and sorta change its vocabulary. I always thought they were kinda kool at the time, and they get bonus points for being banned in a variety of places, but I was not going to pay the money for them at the time , now , whats a twenty , lol. Anyone ever own a furbie or two or three. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/2 "2006-12-05T09:15:55Z")
I have one regular Furby and two baby Furbies. I like the adult one, but the babies sound entirely too much like human babies for my taste. Possibly someone who likes human babies would like the Furby babies, but I’ve never liked human babies, except, of course, for my own daughter. My husband can’t stand any of them, because they’ll start moving and bouncing on their own if they detect sound. I think that that’s one of the charming things about them. Oh, and if you get more than one, they’ll “talk” to each other. ---
**Author:** ![Aunt\_Flow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Aunt\_Flow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aunt_Flow)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/3 "2006-12-05T11:17:36Z")
We had like five when I was a teenager and they were first getting popular. It was a hoot to put them all in a circle facing each other and watch them interact. The best was when one started to go to sleep and suddenly you had all five of them sawing logs… god my life was boring. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/4 "2006-12-05T14:35:43Z")
When they first came out, Furbies had a typo on the box (“sng” instead of “sing”). We happened across one and snatched it up, planning on selling this obviously valuable collectors item for several times the price we paid. It’s still sitting in a closet, unopened. The market for them is nil, and it turns out the typo was on a few hundred thousand boxes, adding nothing to their value. Probably give it to my daughter in a few years. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/5 "2006-12-05T16:18:43Z")
[QUOTE=Declan] …I wanted to hack the furbie and sorta change its vocabulary… [/QUOTE] Do you have any firm plans on how this can be done? AFAIK, the microcontroller inside the thing is proprietary and not readily accessible. (BTW, the mechanical stuff is also not easily hacked - there’s just one motor and a big set of plastic cams and followers. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/6 "2006-12-05T22:30:52Z")
We got one and plopped him on the coffee table and turned him on. Pretty soon, one of the cats is stalking him. The cat finally pounced, grabbed the Furby by the neck and took off with him. They disappeared down the hallway. The Furby was yelling “Yeow! Yeow! Yeow!” and his tiny ears were shooting back and forth. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/7 "2006-12-06T06:50:11Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Do you have any firm plans on how this can be done? AFAIK, the microcontroller inside the thing is proprietary and not readily accessible. (BTW, the mechanical stuff is also not easily hacked - there’s just one motor and a big set of plastic cams and followers. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I have a copy of wired somewhere , with details on how its done and pictures as well. Soon as I pick them up, I will look up the article on Friday. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/8 "2006-12-06T06:56:18Z")
[QUOTE=Hal Briston] When they first came out, Furbies had a typo on the box (“sng” instead of “sing”). We happened across one and snatched it up, planning on selling this obviously valuable collectors item for several times the price we paid. It’s still sitting in a closet, unopened. The market for them is nil, and it turns out the typo was on a few hundred thousand boxes, adding nothing to their value. Probably give it to my daughter in a few years. [/QUOTE] There might be a market for them in about twenty years , but it was not really my intention to hold them as collectables, concidering that they are in the original box’s unopened , suggests that the original person who bought them did so expecting a collectors market, and finally just unloaded them. Concidering the craze at the time , I wonder just how many of these things actually got into the hands of kids , and not adults expecting a future windfall with collectibles. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/9 "2006-12-06T06:58:21Z")
[QUOTE=Napier] We got one and plopped him on the coffee table and turned him on. Pretty soon, one of the cats is stalking him. The cat finally pounced, grabbed the Furby by the neck and took off with him. They disappeared down the hallway. The Furby was yelling “Yeow! Yeow! Yeow!” and his tiny ears were shooting back and forth. [/QUOTE] Reminds me of why Gizmo was driving that little convertible while the dog was chasing him. But , put a cat size adversary into the territory of a cat ,and well bad things will happen to innocent toys. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/10 "2006-12-06T08:07:06Z")
[QUOTE=Napier] We got one and plopped him on the coffee table and turned him on. Pretty soon, one of the cats is stalking him. The cat finally pounced, grabbed the Furby by the neck and took off with him. They disappeared down the hallway. The Furby was yelling “Yeow! Yeow! Yeow!” and his tiny ears were shooting back and forth. [/QUOTE] Maybe I will put some batteries back in one of my Furby babies, and show it to the cats. ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/11 "2006-12-06T08:10:52Z")
I have a perfectly valid fear of Furbies, since they can apparently “learn” and they can talk to eachother in a _language people cannot understand…_ Either way, I can certainly see the entertainment value of having one around, and am curious to know whether or not you can teach them dirty words. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/12 "2006-12-06T10:57:26Z")
I got my daughters Furby after she grew tired of it. I skinned it… ALIVE! It looked much better without the fur. I added a few bits of tinfoil to its face and named it The Furbinator. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/13 "2006-12-06T12:02:19Z")
[QUOTE=Seven] I got my daughters Furby after she grew tired of it. I skinned it… ALIVE! It looked much better without the fur. I added a few bits of tinfoil to its face and named it The Furbinator. [/QUOTE] You people are seriously sick. God I love this place. ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/14 "2006-12-06T15:24:15Z")
Y’know, I originally read the thread title as “I am thinking about buying some **furries**.” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/15 "2006-12-06T16:02:05Z")
[QUOTE=Carl Corey] Y’know, I originally read the thread title as “I am thinking about buying some **furries**.” :eek: [/QUOTE] And were was your mind, hmmmmm never mind, dont ask, dont tell Declan ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/16 "2006-12-06T21:56:03Z")
Maybe you can help. My Furby seems to have some problem. Whenever I start him, he starts snoring and goes back to sleep. What the heck is going on? ---
**Author:** ![the\_chicken\_of\_exeter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_chicken\_of\_exeter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_chicken_of_exeter)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/17 "2006-12-06T22:02:26Z")
The furby low battery howl is easily the most disturbing thing I have ever heard. And I am working on the psych ward at the moment. I threw mine out of the window and I think my dog ate it. I never saw it again. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/18 "2006-12-06T22:04:45Z")
[QUOTE=Seven] I got my daughters Furby after she grew tired of it. I skinned it… ALIVE! It looked much better without the fur. I added a few bits of tinfoil to its face and named it The Furbinator. [/QUOTE] Whereas I call mine RoboFurby. He’s sitting on my desk, looking at me, _right now_. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/19 "2006-12-06T22:08:35Z")
[QUOTE=Carl Corey] Y’know, I originally read the thread title as “I am thinking about buying some **furries**.” :eek: [/QUOTE] Well, one has to start somewhere… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919/20 "2006-12-06T22:10:50Z")
I never loved my dog more than the moment he came into the living room with a mangled and slobber-soaked furby in his mouth. I guess he just couldn’t take it anymore. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-thinking-about-buying-some-furbies/382919.md?page=2)