1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:01,880 Speaker 1: All right. If you are a kid, or a kid 2 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:04,920 Speaker 1: at heart, you have kids, or you ever were a kid, 3 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: then you know the holiday season always seems to have 4 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: one red hot must have toy. Every year, there are 5 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:15,200 Speaker 1: tons of new things to buy, but there's always a standout. 6 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: This year, labuobos have been firing up the marketplace, at 7 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:22,160 Speaker 1: least for younger kids now. Only a handful of toys 8 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 1: have stayed popular through the ages, but one in particular 9 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: took folks on a wild roller coaster ride in the 10 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:33,960 Speaker 1: investment world. I'm Patty Steele. The perfect toy turns into 11 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 1: the perfect investment temporarily. That's next on the backstory. The 12 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 1: backstory is back. Getting the perfect toy for the holidays 13 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: isn't just the goal of every kid. It's the sometimes 14 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: frustrating goal of every parent, grandparent, aunt, and uncle. Laboo 15 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: Boos are one of the hottest toys this holiday season. 16 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: In case you don't know, it's a little squishy monster 17 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: thing that'll set you back anywhere from twenty to twenty 18 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: five bucks. But what launches a toy into the stratosphere 19 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,760 Speaker 1: making it iconic? One toy I'll tell you about in 20 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: a bit became hugely desired as an investment until the 21 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 1: bubble burst. But first, let's go back in the past. 22 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: There was the Teddy bear craze, which began in nineteen 23 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,120 Speaker 1: oh six. It really hasn't stopped since. It started with 24 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: President Teddy Roosevelt sparing the life of a tied up 25 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: black bear while on a hunting trip, then jumping on 26 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:39,000 Speaker 1: the publicity surrounding the story. A German toy company produced 27 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 1: a ton of stuffed bears, and voila, every kid needed 28 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,279 Speaker 1: a Teddy Bear. That was pretty much the first major 29 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: toy craze. Since before the twentieth century, toys were mostly 30 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: simple and homemade. Then in nineteen twenty, Raggedy Ann and 31 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: Andy hit the scene in a big way. These soft 32 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 1: cloth dolls with red yarn and for hair were introduced 33 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: and became popular for decades. They were cuddly, inexpensive, and 34 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 1: somewhat indestructible unless your dog got hold of it. Also 35 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:14,640 Speaker 1: big in the nineteen twenties. Yo yos actually invented as 36 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:18,360 Speaker 1: much as three thousand years ago, possibly in China. It 37 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 1: took the marketing genius of a guy named Don Duncan 38 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 1: to manufacture and sell a jillion Yo yos by starting 39 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:29,800 Speaker 1: Yo yo trick competitions. The nineteen thirties brought the depression, 40 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: but every little girl wanted to be soothed by a 41 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: Shirley Temple doll. They cost as little as three bucks, 42 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: but that was still a big investment for parents in 43 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: tough times. They did make forty five million dollars for 44 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 1: the people that made the dolls. World War Two was 45 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:50,640 Speaker 1: responsible for the next big craze, the slinky. A ship 46 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: engineer discovered it when he knocked over a box of 47 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: ship springs and watched them walk off the table, onto 48 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: a chair and across the floor. Then it got really serious. 49 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty two, Mister potato Head was the first 50 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:09,959 Speaker 1: kid's toy to advertise on TV. The early version was 51 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 1: a bunch of plastic pieces that you would jam into 52 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 1: a real potato. A million of the sets were sold 53 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:19,080 Speaker 1: in the first year, and now with the fully plastic 54 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: potato they continue to sell. Other popular toys followed, like 55 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: Barbie dolls, Gi Joe, Easy Bake ovens, and Star Wars 56 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: action figures. Then in the mid nineteen eighties we started 57 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: seeing literal riots breakout during crazed Black Friday shopping all 58 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: in an effort to snag a cabbage patch kid. The 59 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: kind of ugly cloth and final dolls led to some 60 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 1: crazy stories when Pennsylvania woman got a broken leg when 61 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 1: a thousand person crowd turned into a violent department store mob. 62 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: In another spot, a store manager said he armed himself 63 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: with a baseball bat to defend his position behind the counter, 64 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: and he didn't stop there. The infamous Tickle Me Elmo 65 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: shopping frenzy of nineteen ninety six saw stampedes, scalpers, arrests, 66 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: and tons of injuries. Rosie O'Donnell had featured the giggling 67 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 1: Elmo on her popular daytime talk show In October. By 68 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,279 Speaker 1: Black Friday, Elmo was sold out across the country. When 69 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:25,920 Speaker 1: it got restocked, folks went nuts. One Walmart worker told 70 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: People magazine about the store getting a late night Elmo shipment. 71 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 1: He said he was caught in a stampede. I was 72 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: pulled under, trampled, the crotch was yanked out of my 73 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 1: brand new jeans. He suffered a pulled hamstring, injuries to 74 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:43,919 Speaker 1: his back, jaw and knee, a broken rib, and a concussion. 75 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,159 Speaker 1: He said, I was kicked with a white Adidas before 76 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: I became unconscious. All that for a giggling Elmo. But 77 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:54,680 Speaker 1: that same year, one of the most amazing toy crazes 78 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,919 Speaker 1: left the realm of kid toy and went straight to 79 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 1: the grown up thrill of making money. Before NFTs and 80 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: meme stalks, there was a different kind of mania that 81 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 1: grabbed the entire nation by the throat. It was just 82 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 1: a little toy filled with plastic pellets, but it went 83 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:15,120 Speaker 1: on to sell for hundreds, even thousands of dollars. It 84 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: literally created overnight millionaires, bankrupted families, and became one of 85 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:24,280 Speaker 1: the largest pop culture frenzies ever. It was the Beanie 86 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:29,040 Speaker 1: Baby's bubble, when a kid's toy became an economic supernova. 87 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 1: Ty Warner was a former failed actor and adored toward 88 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:37,599 Speaker 1: toy salesman who had an idea create slightly odd looking 89 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:41,680 Speaker 1: little figures with imperfect features so they looked more real. 90 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: And he didn't sell to big stores, no wal Mart, 91 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 1: no Toys r Us, just tiny mom and pop shops. 92 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 1: Because they were harder to find, they felt more rare. 93 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,359 Speaker 1: Kids begged for them, parents lined up for them, and 94 00:05:55,520 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: eventually collectors started snagging them. That was part of time scheme. 95 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: Just when a figure got super hot, he'd retire it 96 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,799 Speaker 1: and bring on another. That turned a five dollars toy 97 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:10,839 Speaker 1: into a legend because everybody had to get him if 98 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: they were being discontinued. By the end of nineteen ninety six, 99 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:19,040 Speaker 1: beanie babies were no longer toys. They were assets. There 100 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 1: were collector clubs and magazines. Some families even spent their 101 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:27,600 Speaker 1: savings buying inventory they thought would eventually pay for college. 102 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: For a while, a few beanie babies sold for a fortune. 103 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:34,480 Speaker 1: The Princess Bear was listed as high as five hundred 104 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:38,520 Speaker 1: thousand dollars, while the Royal Blue Peanut, the Elephant, and 105 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:41,760 Speaker 1: the Magenta Patty the Platypus sold for as much as 106 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand dollars. People hoarded them in plastic bins and 107 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 1: climate controlled storage units. The wildest part We'll keep in mind. 108 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:55,800 Speaker 1: This was before the Internet explosion, but then came eBay. 109 00:06:56,279 --> 00:06:59,479 Speaker 1: It was brand new, and in the beginning, eBay survived 110 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 1: because of beanie babies. That's right, At one point ten 111 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 1: percent of all eBay listings were beanie babies. Crazy, right, 112 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:13,800 Speaker 1: But then the collapse began slowly. At first, Ty Warner 113 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 1: announced the immediate retirement of dozens of Beanie Babies. Collectors panicked, 114 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 1: some bought more, some cashed out. Then stores began overordering, 115 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:28,960 Speaker 1: and so scarcity evaporated. The bubble popped on December thirty first, 116 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety nine, when Ty Warner released a now infamous 117 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 1: announcement Beanie Babies were being discontinued forever. Collectors rushed to 118 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 1: buy whatever they could, Demands surged and then died Suddenly, 119 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: the fifteen thousand dollars collectibles were worth about three bucks apiece. 120 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 1: Some families lost thousands, and according to court records, some 121 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: couples literally divorced over Beanie Baby collections and Ty Warner 122 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: he pulled off one of the greatest pop culture cash 123 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:04,119 Speaker 1: outs ever. Now, at the age of eighty one, he's 124 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: worth almost seven and a half billion dollars, largely thanks 125 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:12,280 Speaker 1: to Beanie Babies. So the moral is, when buying your 126 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 1: little oneed toy, only look at it as an investment 127 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: in their joy. I hope you're enjoying the Backstory with 128 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. Please leave a review and follow or subscribe 129 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: for free to get new episodes delivered automatically. Also, feel 130 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:28,560 Speaker 1: free to DM me if you have a story you'd 131 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:31,800 Speaker 1: like me to cover on Facebook, It's Patty Steele and 132 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:39,319 Speaker 1: on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The Backstory 133 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, 134 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:47,480 Speaker 1: and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our 135 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. 136 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:54,240 Speaker 1: Feel free to reach out to me with comments and 137 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:58,240 Speaker 1: even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and 138 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:01,320 Speaker 1: on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the 139 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: back Story with Patty Steele. The pieces of history you 140 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 1: didn't know you needed to know.