Toy Threatens To Kill Fla. Boy After Battery Change, Say Parents (Sesame Street's Elmo; VIDEO )

Local 6 (Florida) ^ | February 21, 2008

[PBRSTREETGANG]

“To-Kill-Me Elmo”?

[Stoat]

“To-Kill-Me Elmo”?

At least the family didn't buy the 'tickle' me Bert doll....that could have had far-reaching consequences....

[Stoat]

I wonder how it learns the name.

Thanks to the excellent research by Yo-Yo in finding the toy's web page (post 14), you can see how it's done by going to the name-download page.  The names are saved as .rbf files, which I'm unfamiliar with in the context of a conventional  sound file.

File Extension .RBF Details

Perhaps this is a proprietary format, and is so in order to prevent tampering?

I'm also noticing that "James" is no longer listed as being an available name for download....

(fade in sinister music)

[w1andsodidwe]

Here how to fix it. Just put the original batteries back in it. Problem solved. The doll won’t talk at all.

[Yo-Yo]

If you look at that link on post 14, there is a box near the bottom of the page titled "Hear how Elmo will say your child's name!" James is on that list, and when you click "Play" there is no "Kill" in front of it.

It seems that "James" is one of the stock names that comes with the Know My Name Elmo's CD-ROM. The Download New Names box are for names not on the original CD, I presume.

[Stoat]

I appreciate that clarification, thank you. I had been thinking that perhaps somebody had discovered how to modify the downloadable .rbf name files, hacked the Fisher-Price website and altered one or more of the names. If James is included on the CD-ROM, then the plot thickens even further......

Considering how popular the name ‘James’ is as well as how popular this toy presumably is, one would think that a problem like this would be widespread if there had been an alteration of the CD-ROM.

Perhaps this is nothing more than an isolated software glitch, but if so it’s amazing that it’s manifested itself in this particular way, and that it’s grammatically-correct as well.

I haven’t known very many random software errors to follow the rules of English grammar :-)

[Yo-Yo]

Deep down, it’s a computer. Changing batteries, power glitch, corrupted file. I can see it.

The Elmo says hundreds of phrases, adding in the child’s name like those insidious form letters we get proclaiming “Yo-Yo! You’ve just won...”

So if it originally said “Hello James” when you squeezed its hand, I can see how it got corrupted and said “ell James” which in Elmo’s voice could sound like “Kill James.”

Or something like that. As I said, there’s probably a little recessed master reset button in the battery compartment, the kind you need a straightened paperclip to hit, then just reload the software and be done with it.

Oh yeah, that’s not as financially rewarding as suing Fisher-Price can be.

[gondramB]

Thank you - that was the clue I needed.

I think...

James is not on the Download site because James is already included on the CD. The download site appears to generate custom names. I'm betting the parents went to the site and entered KillJames as a custom name and the site generated the sounds for it. Fisher-Price probably removed KillJames to keep others from getting the same idea.

For example...



You can even make Elmo say sensible political things.

[oneamericanvoice]

The title of this thread is incorrect...a toy can’t threaten anyone. Someone has been watching too many horror flicks.

[DeLaine]

I know. How silly. Take the replacement doll and be done. They probably think, as I do, that someone must’ve said it for the doll to repeat it.

[Peace Is Coming]

Reminds me a little of a twilight episode about a bad doll.

[SunkenCiv]

“My name is Talking Tina, and you’d better be nice to me.”

[myknowledge]

It’s because the Elmo toys are made in China. Bloody ChiComs.

[myknowledge]

Like “Kill Muzzies”. That’ll be Islamophobic.