When former toy salesman Ty Warner introduced a line of small stuffed animals called Beanie Babies to the world in 1993, there was no indication that over the next few years the cute plush toys would be at the center of one of the oddest economic bubbles that coincided with the rise of the internet. No one imagined adults would be scrambling madly to collect as many of the toys as they possibly could - especially the rarer versions like Peanut the Royal Blue Elephant - in the belief that their value would reach thousands of dollars.