---
title: "Did I dream the urchin phone?"
date: 2003-03-06T12:21:00-05:00
url: https://blog.lmorchard.com/2003/03/06/throwable-phone/
author: Les Orchard
---

# Did I dream the urchin phone?

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Okay, I don't think I made this up:  I was reading Wired Magazine a
few months ago, and I saw a phone featured in the Fetish section
that was designed like a Koosh<sup>TM</sup> ball or a sea-urchin.
The idea is that it would be used in a teleconference, thrown back
and forth across the room from speaker to speaker.


We need this at my work.


Has anyone else seen this thing, remember what it was called, or
where they're selling it?  I can't seem to find it again in any of
the Wired issues I can find in my apartment and office.
<!--more-->
shortname=throwable_phone

<div id="comments" class="comments archived-comments">
            <h3>Archived Comments</h3>
            
        <ul class="comments">
            
        <li class="comment" id="comment-221083248">
            <div class="meta">
                <div class="author">
                    <a class="avatar image" rel="nofollow" 
                       href=""><img src="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=8bcf295bb2e23d6ee0d80710023f2b66&amp;size=32&amp;default=http://mediacdn.disqus.com/1320279820/images/noavatar32.png"/></a>
                    <a class="avatar name" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="">Anonymous</a>
                </div>
                <a href="#comment-221083248" class="permalink"><time datetime="2003-03-06T21:08:37">2003-03-06T21:08:37</time></a>
            </div>
            <div class="content">I don't recall having seen a koosh/urchin phone, but I have seen a custom phone that was a 900Mhz radio phone with a mic and speaker that was embedded in a nerf football. A crude lash up, but it did work.</div>
            
        </li>
    
        <li class="comment" id="comment-221083249">
            <div class="meta">
                <div class="author">
                    <a class="avatar image" rel="nofollow" 
                       href=""><img src="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=8bcf295bb2e23d6ee0d80710023f2b66&amp;size=32&amp;default=http://mediacdn.disqus.com/1320279820/images/noavatar32.png"/></a>
                    <a class="avatar name" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="">Anonymous</a>
                </div>
                <a href="#comment-221083249" class="permalink"><time datetime="2003-03-06T23:24:16">2003-03-06T23:24:16</time></a>
            </div>
            <div class="content">that sounds kind of familiar to me too...

you could try looking here:
http://search.wired.com/wired/default.asp?query=fetish%20

if that fails, email them</div>
            
        </li>
    
        <li class="comment" id="comment-221083251">
            <div class="meta">
                <div class="author">
                    <a class="avatar image" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://randyrathbun.org"><img src="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=2409dd8baf4712f0ff9ac15af2d63f89&amp;size=32&amp;default=http://mediacdn.disqus.com/1320279820/images/noavatar32.png"/></a>
                    <a class="avatar name" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://randyrathbun.org">Randy</a>
                </div>
                <a href="#comment-221083251" class="permalink"><time datetime="2003-03-07T16:58:48">2003-03-07T16:58:48</time></a>
            </div>
            <div class="content">You did not dream it. I remember it too...I have no clue where I saw it though.</div>
            
        </li>
    
        <li class="comment" id="comment-221083252">
            <div class="meta">
                <div class="author">
                    <a class="avatar image" rel="nofollow" 
                       href=""><img src="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=43f54f4e781c8374414d45c287474cac&amp;size=32&amp;default=http://mediacdn.disqus.com/1320279820/images/noavatar32.png"/></a>
                    <a class="avatar name" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="">Mike</a>
                </div>
                <a href="#comment-221083252" class="permalink"><time datetime="2003-03-08T00:27:40">2003-03-08T00:27:40</time></a>
            </div>
            <div class="content">I think you might be talking about the "MIT Sputmik Microphone Concept": http://www.time.com/time/2002/inventions/tra_micro.html</div>
            
        </li>
    
        </ul>
    
        </div>