At some point in the 90s, you could have been forgiven for thinking that Furbish, not Spanish, was the fastest-growing language in the world. You could hear it from wherever you were in your house. Sometimes even in the middle of the night. The source? A Furby (sometimes mistakenly spelled Furbees or Furbies).
The Furby was a small, cute, fluffy audio-animatronic robot that you couldn't help feeling must be related to the Gremlin in some way. It was cleverly programmed to dance, sing, talk and even blink, plus sensors meant he would respond to your touch. Basically, If Mum and Dad wouldn't let you have a pet, a Furby was a good compromise. You could pet your Furby's belly and listen to it's moans of pleasure. It was so clever, in fact, that if another of its kind came anywhere near, the two would strike up a conversation. You'd meanwhile, be making notes, trying to swot up on the latest Furbish phrases.
The basics of Furbish were: Yes = Do-Daah and Wee-Tee-Ka-Wa-Tee = sing me a song. These are just two of the 200 Furby phrases floating around at the time, so it was somewhat a blessing when you discovered a handy translation guide nestling at the bottom of your Furby's original packaging.
It's skill however, would also be its undoing to some extent, as some people grew paranaoid about little Furby's ability to store human information if you spoke to it. Those who stuck with the 90s toy trend can still be heard murmuring to themselves in a little-known language called Furbish.
Do You Remember Furbys?
Do You Remember Furbys?