About this episode
The episode discusses the creation and impact of the Furby toy, featuring insights from co-inventor David Hampton.
In 1997, David Hampton and Caleb Chung took one look at a Tamagotchi and decided they could bring the virtual pet craze into the real world. Their robotic companion, Furby, packed a bunch of advanced technology into a small, adorable, often annoying package. But for all the irritation it caused (Furby famously had no on-off switch) there was a surprising amount of thoughtful philosophy in its design. The Verge’s Vee Song, Sean Hollister and host David Pierce are joined by Coco the Furby to discuss the lore behind the hottest toy of 1998. Geocities chat with Furby co-inventor David Hampton We’re also on video! Check us out on YouTube.Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
People in this episode
Hosts: Vee Song, Sean Hollister, David Pierce
Guest: David Hampton
Topics covered
- Furby
- virtual pets
- toy history
- technology design
- 1990s culture
Keywords
- Furby
- David Hampton
- Caleb Chung
- virtual pets
- 1998 toy
- technology
- design philosophy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Verge, Geocities
Products: Furby
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