Family "invests" $100K in beanie babies, goes bankrupt

[Minimalist]

A fool and his money are soon parted.

[My imaginary friend is GOD]

If they still have a house, I want to go over to their house and play. My favorite beanie baby game has always been "School for poor, uneducated Beanie Babies." I don't know why I saw Beanie Babies as the disenfranchised. Of course, there were enemies to my efforts to educate the Beanie Babies, like dinosaurs. Dinosaurs think that Beanie Babies are stupid. Fortunately, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are there to defend the school.

What? It made perfect sense to my 8 year old brain.

[Doubting Thomas]

I never heard the tulip thing.

The reason I mention Billy Beer is because there was a fad back in the late 70's and early 80's where people hung on to cans and even cases of Billy Beer thinking that it was going to be worth a lot of money to collectors some day. The whole idea of it being worth anything was the result of a scam. After Billy Beer production was shut down (from all accounts it was pretty shitty beer and didn't sell that well, and even Billy Carter himself admitted to drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon, another shitty beer), someone placed an ad in a newspaper offering to buy cases of Billy Beer for something like $2000 a case. A couple weeks later they placed another ad offering to sell cases of Billy Beer for something like $200 a six-pack. Some of the schnooks went for it because they'd seen that other ad and assumed it was worth a lot of money and they could get a quick buck. Other people saw the ads and assumed that there was some huge collector market for Billy Beer and hung onto their supply for years thinking that sooner or later they could sell it and retire, when it always was and still is worthless.

[Jackalope]

I never heard the tulip thing.

Well, Tulip mania was almost 400 years ago.

[Doubting Thomas]

At the peak of tulip mania, in March 1637, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman.

I wonder how they kept people from digging them up from their garden? My sister planted a bunch of tulips on her corner, then came home one day to find that someone had dug up every single one of them and made off with them. And this at a time when tulips aren't selling for 10 times your salary.

[Faith No More]

This is just economical Darwinism.

Give that man an award.

[Jackalope]

At the peak of tulip mania, in March 1637, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman.

I wonder how they kept people from digging them up from their garden? My sister planted a bunch of tulips on her corner, then came home one day to find that someone had dug up every single one of them and made off with them. And this at a time when tulips aren't selling for 10 times your salary.

It's thought that it was mostly speculation on what we would call futures contracts today. So, strictly speaking, the bulbs might not even exist when they were bought, much less be in the ground.

[Rahul]

I never heard the tulip thing.

The reason I mention Billy Beer is because there was a fad back in the late 70's and early 80's where people hung on to cans and even cases of Billy Beer thinking that it was going to be worth a lot of money to collectors some day. The whole idea of it being worth anything was the result of a scam. After Billy Beer production was shut down (from all accounts it was pretty shitty beer and didn't sell that well, and even Billy Carter himself admitted to drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon, another shitty beer), someone placed an ad in a newspaper offering to buy cases of Billy Beer for something like $2000 a case. A couple weeks later they placed another ad offering to sell cases of Billy Beer for something like $200 a six-pack. Some of the schnooks went for it because they'd seen that other ad and assumed it was worth a lot of money and they could get a quick buck. Other people saw the ads and assumed that there was some huge collector market for Billy Beer and hung onto their supply for years thinking that sooner or later they could sell it and retire, when it always was and still is worthless.

BEER.

IS NOT.

WORTHLESS.

i love beer

[Doubting Thomas]

30-year-old beer is worthless.

[Rahul]

30-year-old beer is worthless.

I don't even understand the statement. 30 year old beer? You couldn't age any beer at my house longer than a week. No matter how much you store.

That shit would be gone.