Bursting Happiness From the Seams

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Toys are an essential part of a child’s life as they transition to adolescence and eventual adulthood. Among the many classics are Furby, Beanie Babies and Cabbage Patch Kids.
Furby, once “must-have” electronic robotic toy, is able to speak in 24 languages, first hit the stores’ shelves in 1998. More than 40 million of these creatures were sold in the original three years of production. In 2005, a new line of Furbies were introduced with more complex facial movements and voice-recognition. Dave Hampton and Caleb Chung, the creators pf Furbies, spent nine months designing this domestically-aimed robotic toy. As of December 2012, there are 16 colors of Furbies.
Similar to Furbies with multiple colors and designs, Beanie Babies is a popular stuffed animal line made by the company Ty Inc. The brand’s distinguishable feature is its inner lining that is filled with plastic pellets instead of fur. These toys were high in demand in 1995; however, consumer requests died down in 1999 when the manufacturers declared their discontinuation of creating Beanie Babies by releasing a bear named “The End”. Towards the beginning of 2008, Ty created an online version of Beanie Babies called Beanie Babies 2.0. Upon purchase, a Beanie Baby 2.0 provides its owner with a code to access a Beanie Babies interactive website.
Another type of toy is the Cabbage Patch Kids, originally called “Little People,” which are dolls that were created in 1978 by an American art student, Xavier Roberts. They were popular in the 1980s and the brand is one of the longest running doll franchises in America. Throughout the years, Cabbage Patch Kids have been bought by multiple companies in the respective order: Coleco (1982-1988), Hasbro (1988-1994), Mattel (1944-2003), Toys ‘R” Us (2003) and Play Along (2004-present).
Furby, Beanie Babies and Cabbage Patch Kids are novelties that take some of us back to the past. They contain blissful memories of our childhood that will stay with us throughout our lives.

By Features Editor Dalla Wong