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Episode 609: The Curse Of The Black Lotus

NPR | By Robert Smith,
Quoctrung Bui
Published December 26, 2018 at 12:34 PM CST
Stand in awe before the Black Lotus.
Jim Bruso
Stand in awe before the Black Lotus.

In a classic bubble — as we've seen in housing, tech stocks, or Beanie Babies — the fun ends in a crash. Things go belly up, and people can lose a lot of money.

The creators of the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering faced such a bubble. The cooler they made their cards, the more the resale value increased — and threatened to send Magic cards the way of the Beanie Baby.

Today on the show: How the folks who made Magic cards came up with a plan. A plan to once and for all conquer the science of bubbles, and make a collectible toy that could live forever.

Music: "Air Tour," "Jet Set Go" and "Devil By My Side."

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Robert Smith
Robert Smith is a host for NPR's Planet Money where he tells stories about how the global economy is affecting our lives.
See stories by Robert Smith
Quoctrung Bui
See stories by Quoctrung Bui