This is an IHeart podcast.

Welcome to Criminalia, a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership with IHeartRadio.

Meredith Turrets, age 10, told the New York Times in 1997, quote,

currently I have 35.

I wasn't really going to collect them, but my aunt for Hanukkah got me Legs the Frog,

and then for a secret Santa I got Digger the Crab, and then I got 11 for my birthday.

She continued saying she'd like to marry them to each other.

Caitlin O'Galliger, age eight, told the

times, quote, in my class, we bring them in and trade them. This is the story of when Beanie Baby

Mania swept the country and how one of the biggest fads inspired big theft, fraud, and market manipulation.

Welcome to Criminalia. I'm Maria Tremarky.

And I'm Holly Fry. When Beanie Babies hit the scene in 1993, the original line of stuffed toys

featured nine characters. Brownie the Bear, who was later renamed Cubby, Chocolate the Moose,

Flash the Orca, Legs the Frog, Patty the Platypus, Pinchers the Lobose, flash the orca, legs the frog, patty the platypus, pinchers the lobster,

splash the whale, spot the dog, and squealer the pig. They were one of the hottest toys of the

1990s. If you're not a 1990s kid, Beanie babies are nothing more than plastic pellet-filled plush toys that came

with cute names and, quote, an aura of collectibility. They were the brainchild of Ty Warner,

and they were made by his company, Ty Incorporated.

Ty Incorporated is a multinational, privately owned company headquartered in in Oak Brook, Illinois, which is a suburb of Chicago, and it was founded by H. Ty Warner in 1986.

He is the eldest child of Harold Warner, a jewelry and toy salesman, and his wife, Georgia, a pianist.

Ty grew up in the Chicago suburbs and attended Michigan's Kalamazoo College, said a former

classmate, quote, he was a free spirit. After college, Warner joined his father as a salesman

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