Furby

Key takeaways

Furby belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Furby to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Furby from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Furby is an American electronic robotic toy created by Tiger Electronics – a subsidiary of Hasbro. Originally released in October 1998, it resembles an owl-like creature and went through a period of being a "must-have" toy following its holiday season launch. More than 40 million Furbies were sold during the three years of its original production, with 1.8 million sold in 1998 and 14 million in 1999. Overall, its speaking capabilities were translated into 17 various languages. Furbies were the first successful attempt to produce and sell a domestically aimed robot. A newly purchased Furby, or a Furby that has been reset, starts out speaking entirely "Furbish" – the unique language that all Furbies speak – but is programmed to start speaking English words and phrases in place of Furbish over time. This process is intended to resemble the process of learning English. Four years after the toy's end of production, Hasbro introduced an updated Furby in 2005 called the Emoto-Tronic Furby. This updated Furby has voice recognition and more complex facial movements and was sold until 2007. Furby with black and white LCD eyes and a mobile app was released for the holiday season in 2012. Another updated Furby with color LCD eyes, known as Furby Connect was released in 2016. The last new generation was released in 2023.

History

Initial creation Dave Hampton and Caleb Chung spent nine months creating the Furby (in addition to nine months spent designing the toy). After two attempts at licensing the concept, they invited fellow toy and game inventor Richard C. Levy to join their efforts to sell Furby. Levy brought Furby to Tiger Electronics and Tiger's Roger Shiffman bought the rights to it. Furby's first public appearance was at the 1998 American International Toy Fair held in New York City. The product officially launched on October 2, 1998. Furbies originally retailed for about US$35, and upon release, they sold very well. Catapulting demand during the 1998 Christmas period drove the resale price over $100, and sometimes as high as several hundred dollars. Furbies were sold for over $300 in newspapers and in auctions. Nicknames were given to the different aesthetic varieties, and sellers assigned rarity values to them. The significant aftermarket demand (and price) for the toy resulted in cases of fraud in which customers paid for Furbies that were never delivered. As supplies dwindled, and when retail supplies ran out, buyers turned to the Internet, where Furbies could be purchased for two, three, or more multiples of their retail price. During one 12-month period, a total of 27 million Furby toys were sold.

Revivals 2005 saw the reintroduction of Furby with the release of the new Emoto-Tronic Furby. On April 12, 2012, it was announced that Hasbro would be making a new line of Furbies. The new line was released in September 2012. As of December 2012 there were sixteen colors: teal, white, black, purple, tangerine-tango, yellow, aqua, navy blue, plum, pink, pink/teal, orange/blue, black/pink, blue/yellow, teal/purple, and gray/teal. Furbies were one of the eleven toys named the top toys for Christmas 2013 by the Toy Retailers Association at the DreamToys Convention where they unveil their predictions for the most popular holiday toys annually. In 2025, Furby was named a finalist for induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play.

Types

First generation (1998–2002)

The main reason for their popularity was because of apparent "intelligence", as reflected in their ability to develop language skills. Furbies can communicate with one another via an infrared port located between their eyes. Furbies start out speaking entirely "Furbish", a language with short words, simple syllables, and various other sounds. They are programmed, however, to speak less and less Furbish and more and more English as they "grow". According to the variant, it knew 9 languages (English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Swedish, Greek and Portuguese). There was a common misconception that they repeated words that were said around them. This belief most likely stemmed from the fact that it is possible to have the Furby say certain pre-programmed words or phrases more often by petting it whenever it said these words. As a result of this myth, several intelligence agencies banned them from their offices. A simple electric motor and a system of cams and gears close the Furby's eyes and mouth, raise its ears, and lift it off the ground in a faux display of mobility. The originals are popular with many hackers as they can be dissected and made to do interesting things. In particular, their audio capabilities and various sensory interfaces make them popular with the circuit bending community. McDonald's Happy Meal toy Furby-Shelby was released in 2000 in the United Kingdom, there are 8 to collect in total (4 classic look and 4 clams). These toys can sing to each other via a sensor in their feet.

Furby Babies In 1999, the Furby Babies line was introduced. Furby Babies are smaller than the original, have higher voices, and cannot dance, but they switch to speaking English more quickly. They also have an extended vocabulary and different "Easter eggs" and "games" built into them. Furby Babies come in 24 different colors. All have white eyelashes and one of six different eyecolors.

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Illustrations

Furby: Furby-Shelby toy from McDonald's (2000) — Furby-Shelby toy from McDonald's (2000)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Furby

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Furby claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Furby before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Furby ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Furby

In research: Furby appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Furby in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Furby is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1990s toys, Doll brands, Hasbro products, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Furby outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Furby in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Furby means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Furby out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Furby in simple terms?

Furby is an American electronic robotic toy created by Tiger Electronics – a subsidiary of Hasbro. Originally released in October 1998, it resembles an owl-like creature and went through a period of being a "must-have" toy following its holiday season launch.

Why does Furby matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Furby?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Furby.