Beanie Babies

Beanie Babies
TypeStuffed toy
Inventor(s)Ty Warner
CompanyTy Inc.[1]
CountryUnited States
Availability1993–present
MaterialsSynthetic plush, polyvinyl chloride, polyester fiber

Beanie Babies are a line of stuffed toys created by American businessman Ty Warner, who founded Ty Inc. in 1986. The toys are stuffed with plastic pellets ("beans") rather than conventional soft stuffing. They come in many different forms, mostly animals.

Created in 1993, Beanie Babies emerged as a major fad and collectible during the second half of the 1990s.[2][3] They have been cited as being the world's first Internet sensation.[4] They were collected not only as toys but also as a financial investment, due to their high resale value.[5][6][7]

  1. ^ Halbfinger, David M. (1999-03-12). "On the Trail of a Beanie Burglar". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2016-11-19.
  2. ^ Chupka, Kevin. "Beanie Babies: Whatever happened to Millennials' favorite toy?". Yahoo Finance. Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  3. ^ Jacob Osborn, Peter Richman (5 December 2022). "Top holiday toys from the year you were born". Stacker Media. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  4. ^ Bissonnette, Zac (March 2015). "The $12-per-hour Sociology Major Who Made Ty Warner a Billionaire". The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute. Penguin Books. pp. 107–121. ISBN 978-1591846024.
  5. ^ "Is your Beanie Baby collection actually worth a lot of money now?". Today. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  6. ^ Stern, Mark (3 February 2015). "Why did people lose their minds over Beanie Babies?". Slate. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  7. ^ Winograd, David (25 July 2013). "Family Spent $100,000 On Beanie Babies Thinking 'Investment' Would Put Kids Through College". Huffington Post. Retrieved 29 November 2018.