#2: Furbies
Furbies were released in 1998, and they were electronic toys that looked like an owl-bat-thingy with big eyes, and they were hot! If they were sold out at KB Toys for their $35 ($67.52 in 2024) price tag, parents would shell out hundreds to a scalper if they didn’t want to disappoint their kid!
The reason they were so popular is that it was marketed as an intelligent toy. These creatures would speak their own language called Furbish, then learn English as time went on. While it was just how it was programmed, we all thought these were real creatures with thoughts and feelings. And we felt terrified when one woke up in the middle of the night demanding food! Furbies are still being made, with newer versions having more advanced AI. I welcome our Furby overlords when they gain sentience.