Fingerlings is a toy line released in 2017 by

WowWee WowWee Group Limited, is a privately owned, Hong Kong-based Canadian consumer technology company. History Initially from Canada, the two founding brothers (Richard and Peter Yanofsky) moved to Hong Kong to form the company in 1982, as an independ ...

. The toy is a robotic creature that wraps around a finger and reacts to touch and sound with actions like blinking and blowing kisses. Fingerlings Hugs are larger plush toys that have the same interactivity. In the 2017 Christmas season Fingerlings were a hit, and so called "Grinch bots", named after a fictional Dr Seuss character who "stole Christmas", bought out Fingerlings on online retail sites to resell for higher prices. Following this legislation was proposed to ban the bots.

Features

Fingerlings are capable of over 40 different sounds and reactions, including singing, blinking, burping, and farting. With built-in

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...

s and

motion sensor A motion detector is an electrical device that utilizes a sensor to detect nearby motion. Such a device is often integrated as a component of a system that automatically performs a task or alerts a user of motion in an area. They form a vital co ...

s, they react differently depending on how you interact with them. The original lineup was designed to resemble the

pygmy marmoset Pygmy marmosets are two species of small New World monkeys in the genus ''Cebuella''. They are native to rainforests of the western Amazon Basin in South America. These primates are notable for being the smallest monkeys in the world, at just ov ...

, an animal that Sydney Wiseman, WowWee's brand manager and niece of the company's owners, has been "obsessed" with since childhood.

History

Fingerlings were released in the UK and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in the spring of 2017. They launched in the United States in August 2017, where they exploded in popularity. WowWee created exclusive products for major retailers—a glitter-covered monkey for

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

, the sloth for

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

, and a unicorn for

Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loc ...

. Later Fingerlings releases include creatures like pandas and dragons. In 2018, WowWee released Fingerlings Hugs for the Holiday season. The interactive plush toy is much bigger than the original Fingerlings, but have the same interactivity. The Fingerlings Hugs monkeys have long arms that kids can wrap around themselves.

Controversy

The toy became the #1 toy for Christmas 2017. Online shopping

bots The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...

, known as "Grinch bots", rapidly purchased bulk orders of Fingerlings from retail websites and sold them on secondary marketplaces like

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

and

for a much higher price.

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...

noticed the trend and stated, "Grinch bots cannot be allowed to steal Christmas, or dollars" and proposed legislation that would ban bots on retail sites, expanding the existing

Better Online Tickets Sales Act The Better Online Ticket Sales Act of 2016Pub.L. 114-274, S.3183 commonly referred to as the BOTS Act) was signed into federal law by President Barack Obama on December 14, 2016. This act was created to thwart attempts by individuals and organizatio ...

(BOTS Act), which already prohibits bulk purchasing concert or theater tickets.

References

{{reflist WowWee 2010s toys Toy animals Toy controversies Electronic toys 2010s fads and trends Entertainment robots

Features

History

Controversy

See also

References