Beanie Babies used to be viewed by some as alternative investments

The Beanie Baby craze is known as one of the wildest collectible bubbles in history

The Beanie Baby boom saw collectors drive prices for stuffed animals into the hundreds or thousands of dollars, fueled by hype surrounding scarcity and online bidding wars. When demand collapsed in the early 2000s, the market crashed—leaving steep losses for many speculators.

Bubbles can exist in markets for collectibles, not just industries and technology

This podcast tells how "Magic: The Gathering" faced its own speculative bubble as rare cards surged in resale value—risking a Beanie Baby-style crash. It follows how the game’s creators tried to engineer a system to keep a collectibles market from collapsing.

Pop culture sometimes changes the way people invest

After the "Barbie" movie premiered, the number of investors in Barbie parent company Mattel's stock grew more than six times larger on the investment platform Public, according to the platform's recent report. Other cultural trends have affected which stocks investors choose as well.

Pop Mart is the company behind the viral Labubu toy craze

Labubus, the Chinese collectible toys, are being heralded as the next Beanie Babies. Pop Mart, the company behind the Labubus, is using a few psychological tools to keep the Labubu economy booming.

How 'Star Wars' turned toys into collectibles

George Lucas licensed the "Star Wars" franchise to Kenner Products, which created small figurines that became wildly popular. By the 1977 Christmas season, they were facing a shortage and sold mail-in rainchecks, effectively allowing customers to purchase figures that weren't yet produced. The strategy worked, portraying the toys as valuable collectibles whose price would appreciate.

The world of rare and expensive Pokémon cards

The rising value and popularity of Pokémon trading cards is driven by nostalgia, influencer culture, and the launch of Pokémon Go. Fans of the decades-old Japanese game are now seeking to buy rare cards in mint condition for thousands of dollars, sometimes even millions. Learn more about the frenzy to collect these rare cards, and how influencer Logan Paul helped boost market interest in this article.

Inside a company making millions on retro, refurbished technology

Retrospekt is one of the many companies flipping old, fan-favorite technology like Polaroids, cassette tapes, and Tamagotchis. Studies show that nostalgia can make people spend money and is one of the driving forces behind the demand for second-hand gadgets.

Tulips were once viewed as alternative investments in Holland

In the 1600s, during a period of relative wealth for the Dutch after they gained their independence from Spain, some started collecting rare flower bulbs that created speckled and striped tulips.

Crypto history's is full of bizarre stories

Digital currencies based solely on misspellings of former President Joe Biden’s name have skyrocketed, and backers of a token based on a Shiba Inu wearing a hat raised $690K to get their logo on the Las Vegas Sphere.

There's a debate over whether or not Hermes Birkin bags are good investments

Hermes often requires would-be buyers of its luxury Birkin purses (which can cost as little as $10K or more than $100K, depending on the bag) to have a relationship with a sales associate before getting off the company’s Birkin “wish list” and being granted the opportunity to purchase one.

Alternative investments carry unique tax implications

The specifics depend on the type of alternative asset, as well as how long you hold it for, and your income.

At their peak, some believed NFT royalties could create a new income source for artists

Non-fungible tokens’ role in the art world is evolving with experiments such as automated NFT royalties that generate income when an NFT is resold.

Value investing is the strategy of buying assets you believe are worth more than their current price

Famed investor Warren Buffett is known for building his empire with this strategy, which he learned from his mentor Benjamin Graham.

Shrunken human heads were once a valuable commodity

In the Ecuadoran Amazon of the 1800s, shrunken human heads had spiritual significance. As outsiders became fascinated by the exotic practice, head shrinking became commercialized, and counterfeit shrunken heads were common. By the mid-1940s, shrunken heads could be traded for guns. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Beads are social currency during Mardi Gras

Historians believe krewes started tossing small items, colloquially called "throws," to onlookers sometime in the 1870s or 1880s. Eventually, shiny beads became the norm and were usually given to those offering something in return. (At times, that meant free booze or the flashing of breasts.) The early strings of beads were glass, though by the 1960s most were plastic.

Stablecoins could give people in high-inflation economies access to stronger currencies

Specifically, stablecoins could provide a way to make sure these funds remain valuable during times of volatility. Some examples of people without access to the US dollar using stablecoins as a store of value have been observed in Venezuela.

What are baby bonds?

In 2008, Hillary Clinton proposed giving every US newborn a $5,000 government-funded trust, often called a “baby bond,” to help low-income families build long-term wealth. Supporters said it could reduce wealth inequality, while critics argued existing programs like the Child Tax Credit offered similar benefits.

Banksy once sold his highly valued artwork on the street for $60

The notorious (and anonymous) street artist has a history of sending up the art world's pretensions. In 2013, he sold his artwork, valued at approximately $20K per piece, for $60 on a New York street. Some unassuming, but apparently aesthetically discerning, patrons took home world-renowned work that day at a steep discount.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Some ads help create ‘symbolic value’ for products

A Rolex watch and a watch from the Dollar Store serve the same purpose: helping the wearer tell the time. But a Rolex is worth thousands of dollars while the Dollar Store watch is costs $1 because of symbolic value, or what the watch says about its wearer. This article helps break down the difference between the two.

Today's money-making influencers might not have existed without the 'mommy bloggers'

"Mommy bloggers" chronicled the realities of their lives with kids on blogs in the early 2000s. Many eventually made some serious ad dollars too.

There's a booming community of jumping spider pet owners

Jumping spiders have become hugely popular pets, especially amongst women, and they can cost up to $100. Some get them in an attempt to overcome their fear of spiders, while others just find them adorable. The practice has led many people to appreciate the complexity of the animal that some would consider a pest.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Meet the ‘SPY kids’ tied to Wall Street’s first ETF

When SPY became the first ETF to launch in 1993, regulators wanted its issuers to set a termination date. After initially saying the fund would cease to exist in 25 years, its issuers came up with a different strategy. They named 11 children born between 1990 and 1993 and declared that the fund would cease to exist in 2118, or 20 years after the last of the 11 “SPY kids” died. The kicker? According to Bloomberg, none of the children knew they were connected to the fate of this giant fund.

Annuity sales have climbed, topping $430B in 2024, as retirees look to pad their income

Retirees are seeking guaranteed income that will last for as long as they live, weather market downturns, and preserve wealth.

The 'Seinfeld' characters would likely be financially successful today

Even though Kramer probably doesn't have a 401(k) plan, he also probably struck gold as an investor with many side hustles.

The men’s underwear index predicts recessions based on men’s underwear sales

Internet users have been using some nontraditional indicators to predict whether a recession is imminent, including the return of so-called “recession pop.”

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

In recent years a child anxiety expert has created and tested a novel phobia and anxiety treatment approach for children, focused on changing how parents respond to the fears.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

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