REX'S EMAIL about BEANIE TAGS |
In a message dated 21/12/98 23:36:10, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, I have a twigs that has a 3rd edition tush tag and a 4th edition swing tag whcih one do i go by? Heather Arkansas >>
Hello Heather,
Unfortunately generations of tush tags do not always mean that you will find the same generation hang tag.
Most people would go by the hang tag.
REX
In a message dated 10/12/98 2:10:13, you wrote: <<My name is Jeannine and I live in Warsaw, KY. My question is I have been told that Maple the Canadian Bear or Brittania the British Bear started out with another name, could you tell me which one it was, and what the name was?>>
Hello Jeannine,
Britannia always had the same name.
Maple, when he first appeared in the nursery in 1997 was called PRIDE on his tush tag. They say that only a couple thousand were made, making him just as rare as the Royal Blue Peanut!
For some reason people do NOT seem to realize this, and he is still WAY BELOW Peanut in his adoption fee.
REX
In a message dated 16/8/98 02:40:00, you wrote: <<I had a salesperson in a shop I buy my beanies from, offer to sell me a Glory(without hang tag) for $25. They said 12 came in that way in a Ty box, and were listed on the invoice. I ask them to call Ty and tell them they came in without tags and the salesperson said ty would not sent hang tags. So there was nothing the shop owner could do. Is this the truth???? What is the shop owners recourse??? Or the next question is, was I being scammed. Do you know what Ty's policy is if items are shipped with no tags? Thanks Estelle from Maryland ->>
Hello Estelle,
I personally would never adopt a Beanie without a hang tag. Secondly, the official adoption centers are supposed to let you adopt any of the current Beanies for about $6-- not $25!!
The shop owner could send them back to TY saying they were defective. I am sure that they return other defective things back to where they came from.
I don't know if you were being "scammed"-- I do think that you would have been robbed if you paid that much for any current with OR without a tag!!
REX
In a message dated 11/7/98 04:35:17, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, My name is Clark Minor and I am from Tulsa, OK. Rex why are the tags worth haft the price of the Benie Baby? All the other collectibles I know of are different. Your friend, Clark Minor>>
Hello Clark,
The answer to your question is VERY simple : because most people have absolutely NO idea what a "collectible" is, what they are worth and why, what is considered "RARE", nor many other details about what "collecting" is all about.
The newer Beanie "collectors" are simply seeing Beanies all over the Internet, on TV auctions or in the newspaper when some government official tries to bring a bunch back from China. They are hyped to death and if someone hasn't heard about my Beanie pals they must live in the desert, never go out, have no radio or TV, or get newspapers!!
A Steiff bear, or a Tiffany lamp or an ornate sterling silver compote by Gorham (the silversmiths) that was made 80 or more years ago is highly collectible and rare because there may be fewer than a 6 (or even less!!) anywhere in the world.
Beanie Babies are only about 5 whole years old, were made in the hundreds of thousands, and are actually all over the place. They are neither "rare", unusual nor all that hard to find.
If I had a table in front of me with a nice Gorham sterling piece, an original sketch by the German artist Kirschner, a Tiffany aurene vase, a pre-Hispanic animal-form vessel and a "Fine Maned Derby" (yuk!), I would most probably choose the sterling silver item (or perhaps even the Tiffany art glass).
The "new" collectors really have no idea of "value" nor any of the internationally recognized characteristics of what a "collectible" is or should be. What they seem to have an excess of is $$. Unfortunately $$ with little "taste" will not make what they bought any rarer, more desirable nor worth as much as they squandered 2 years from now!!
Your comment about a Beanie being worth only half as much with no tags is also sort of off-the-wall, but true according to these highly unsophisticated new "collectors". Try to buy a Beanie without a hang tag ( I have seen them!!) in any Official Adoption Agency and see if they sell it to you for half price!!
In life you have to try and be logical and reasonable, and not be led by the nose by hype and ads. IF more people would think for themselves the prices of some CURRENT Beanie bears would NOT be $500 and stores would have them on their shelves and not sell them out the back door at a nontaxable profit!! That is not only unfair to the kids who want them to play with, ripping the tags off as soon as they get them, it is also uncouth, obnoxious, unethical and a downright scam!!
REX
In a message dated 3/7/98 02:40:24, you wrote: <<Hi, My name is Lori and I am from Washington State. I am just starting to collect beanies and I totally got confused trying to figure out which Princess I had according to your questions page. I have 2 Peace and 2 Valentinos. one of the Valentinos' Hang tag's Has his name followed by a style number and his date of birth is written as 2-14-94, the other Valentino's hang tag does not have the stlye number after his name and the Birthdate is written out as February 14 1994. Both tush tags are the same and read P.V.C. pellets. My 2 Peace bears are different as well. One has a style number after the name and the birthdate is written as 2-1-96. His tush tag says P.V.C. Pellets. The other Peace Does not have the style number written after the name and his birthday is written out as February 1 1996 and his tush tag reads P.E. pellets. I know this is alot to ask but I was wondering why the differences and which ones would be worth more? Thats all I had to ask. Thanks alot-Lori>>
Hello Lori,
The difference in the hang tags that you mention means that you have what are called "different generation" Beanies.
The latest ones do not have the style number on the inside of the hang tag, rather include it in the "bar code" on the back of the tag.
For a really great listing of all the Beanie tags go to
Sherry's Collectible Treasures
where you can see actual photos of the different tag generations.
In general, anything which is "older" is worth a bit more than the newest version. A Model-T Ford in mint condition (ever without hang or tush tags!!) is worth more than most newer cars made by the same company.
REX
In a message dated 28/5/98 11:49:29, you wrote: <<Hi Rex, I live up North in Toronto, Cool Canada! I have received a Bones with the NY Commemorative Card from the Tuesday, March 10, 1998 New York Yankees vs Toronto @ 7:15 at Legends Field. Upon further inspection of the swing tag, I notice the tag says "Scoop" along with the Scoop poem, etc. The Bones and the tags are all Mint along with the card. Could you possibly give me an approximate value on this as no one else seems to want to or has no idea. Thank you and I love your site, it is really great, I check it out all the time for new info. El>>
Hello El,
Is that short for Elvis? Have you been incognito in Canada all this time??
You have a technical difficulty with your Bones (NOT with YOUR bones, I mean the Beanie!). The switched hang tag means that you DO NOT technically have the proverbial "Mint With Both Mint Tags" Beanie!!
IF a tush tag is wrong, then it is a "rarity". IF it is the hang tag that is a mistake, since they may be switched so easily, the critters are usually "worth" less than the "normal" Beanie.
Exactly why you received this mistaged dog is a mystery. Your only option is to get a "normal" Bones and substitute it for the other canine, and along with the certificate, you then would have the Commemorative Bones, and if you don't tell anyone about the switch than neither will I !!. Unless the Commemorative one has a baseball bat in its mouth or some other change.
REX
In a message dated 28/5/98 10:56:32, you wrote: <<Hi Rex! My name is Sarah and I live in North Dakota. I have a beanie question for you. I know that there are 5 generations of swing tags and 4 generations of tush tags. But how do you know which goes to which? For example, I have a Squealer with a first generation tush tag but he has no swing tag. Is there any way to know for sure if he had a first generation swing tag at one time? Or does Ty just mismatch the swing and tush tags so that you could have say, a third generation swing tag w/ a first generation tush tag? Thanks, Sarah>>
Hello Sarah,
There is no real way to tell exactly which tags a Beanie might have had with only the tush tag on it.
A good example is Brownie. If a Brownie ONLY has his tush tag, he could have really been a Cubby because they had the exact same generation hang tag (but with different names). So IF you have a first generation Cubby and find a Brownie hang tag, you could "make" yourself a real live Brownie!!
It is very difficult to figure out one tag from the other by itself. Father Ty does not "mismatch" the tags, even though sometimes a mistake can be found.
REX
In a message dated 21/4/98 04:41:15, you wrote: <<Dear Rex Hi! My question is I recently saw a Snort. In his poem it called him Tabasco! Is this rare or unusual? Garcia Saskatchewan Canada>>
Hello Garcia,
Snort tells me that since the only difference in his poem is the change of names from "Tabasco" to "Snort" that it is possible that some of the early Snorts still had the old leftover hang tags.
I wonder what name was on his tush tag?
REX
In a message dated 31/3/98 14:52:00, you wrote: <<Hi Rex- My sisters collect beanie babies. Since a lot of children collect beanies why aren't the heart tags made out of something that does not bend so easily? Something like hard cardboard or material (like the tush tags)? This way a child could play with them alittle and still not hurt their value. I know that tag protectors are available for the tags but they are not on them when one buys them and in some area tag protectors are hard to find. Jason Laverty Longview, TX >>
Hello Jason,
Good question!
Imagine that your Dad bought a car and it needed few repairs and could last for 30 years or more. How many cars would he buy in a lifetime? In business, things are made in the least expensive way, not always in the BEST way!
Even if it were made of plastic or even solid gold, both your Beanie pal and its tags would wear out, get dirty and bent if you played with it enough-- and that's what Father Ty says they are for!
Sonny told me that he hates most tag protectors because if you push them up as far as they go, a lot of times it could make slight marks in the tag. So he doesn't use them at all.
People who collect things like their goodies to be in the best shape possible. NOTHING is absolutely "perfect" and some people don't realize this, especially Beanie "collectors"!! Sonny has some artifacts from ancient Rome, Israel and China and not one of them is in the proverbial "mint" condition!! Even the great Venus de Milo lost her arms somewhere centuries ago and is still priceless!
So enjoy your Beanie friends as much as you can, and IF you really want to keep some in perfect shape, get an extra and store it somewhere.
REX
In a message dated 29/3/98 04:13:11, you wrote: <<Hi Rex, My question is how do the people who make Beanie Babies mess up and make mistakes and then the ones that they make mistakes on are worth more money?It just dosen't make sense right?Well thanks!Dana M.B. Las Vegas,NV>>
Hello Dana,
Echo tells me that a mistake is easy to make and is usually corrected. Don't you ever make mistakes?
Since the error is changed to what it should be, a tush tag, for example, with the wrong name is less common that the normal one. People who collect things usually look for "rarer" types of things, meaning that fewer were made.
REX
In a message dated 21/3/98 04:46:03, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, Do you know about the all capitals CLAUDE,miss hang tagged beanies,beanies made with no tush tags,and miss tush tagged beanies?! Well I have been thinking about this for a LONG time but have not come to a conclusion. Do you think Ty does this on porpouse to get Beanie collectors to run wild and buy more of these miss tagged creatures? Do you think this is a way to get more $$? I hope you can help me come to a conclusion! Thanks in advance!! :0) Brittany Higgins Norcross,Ga>>
Hello Brittany,
My Beanie pals with mistaken tush tags are simple mistakes made at the Cloning Labs. And a lot of "collectors" like to find them because an error is much rarer than the normal set of tags.
The same with different spellings on either of the tags.
Father Ty wouldn't do that sort of thing to make more $$ because he says he only clones them for kids to play with at a price that they can afford!
REX
In a message dated 14/3/98 03:24:24, you wrote: <<How do you know your not getting ripped off by the tag of the TY?? TRAVIS GLASS, MICHIGAN>>
Hello Travis,
The only way that I know to get "official" Ty Beanie friends is through an established Adoption Center. Or you can trade with someone you know, or go to a Beanie show in your area.
I don't know what you mean, exactly, by "getting ripped off", BUT with anything you do, whether it be getting a new Beanie or a new pet dog, you have to know something about it BEFORE you get one.
REX
In a message dated 2/3/98 23:27:50, you wrote: <<Hey, Rex! What is the difference between PE Pelleys and PVC Pellets? Is one worth more than the other? Thanks! ED>>
Hi Ed,
"P.E" means Polyethylene and "P.V.C." is the abbreviation for Polyvinyl chloride. They are both synthetic materials made by chemists who can link simple molecules together to form very long chains.
Both substances are what are know as polymer plastic resins that harden from a mixture of liquids. The resins themselves are highly flammable, but the resulting solids are less volatile.
PVC is what they make all kinds of pipes out of, sort of white/cream colored, used as modern substitutes for metal pipes in plumbing.
Princess told me that one of them is cheaper to produce, but she can't remember which of the two.
REX
In a message dated 1/3/98 18:13:16, you wrote: <<From Alexander Scott, New Jersey I have a Stretch that has a tush tag that says Bongo and a swing tag that says Stretch. How rare is this Beanie? Does anybody know how many of these Beanies were made?>>
Hello Alexander,
Stretch said that the scientists at the Beanie cloning labs sometimes press the wrong buttons and then the new Beanie gets the wrong tush tag. It is a simple mistake, and nobody ever counts their mistakes!
My friend Sonny even found a Prance with a Dotty tush tag! Both of these mistakes, or "mistushes" as Sonny calls them, are so strange that they might be very rare.
Some collectors like to have these tush tag errors. One famous one was the loads of Echo with waves tags, and there must be millions of them.
REX
In a message dated 22/2/98 02:16:08, you wrote: <<Hey, Rex! I was wondering, on Claude's tag his whole name is capitalized, I've seen this on several Claude's, but not other beanies. Why is his name like this and not others? Thanks! -ED>>
Hello Ed,
I asked my pal CLAUDE a.k.a. Claude about your question and he tells me that both forms appear on his tags for some unknown reason. Maybe the one with all the big letters was made in the capital of the country where the Beanie Cloning Lab is located, and that was their way of telling us that?
REX
In a message dated 18/2/98 21:55:36, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, I have a beanie that looks just like Daisy. I have already cut her hang tag off, but the tush tag says it's made by TY. The problem is, she doesn't have a heart on the tush tag. Do I have a Daisy that was made before they put hearts on the tush tag Or does TY make some other kind of beanie? Please write back soon!!!!! Melissa >>
Hi again Melissa,
I thought that you were supposed to ask only one question each month??
YES, the tush tag without the star is the one BEFORE the one with the star. Remember that when the star first came out, it was on a piece of transparent tape, NOT printed on the tag as it is today.
REX
In a message dated 15/2/98 22:16:06, you wrote: <<Hi Rex! I have a cow that looks exactly like Daisy. I got it several years ago but we clipped the hang tag off. The tush tag says: 1993 Ty Inc., Oakbrook IL. USA, All Rights Reserved, Handmade in China, All Surface Washable. It has no heart on the tush tag, just white with black letters. Could this be an early release beanie?? If it is, is it worth anything? Thanks! Melissa, Missouri>>
Hello again Melissa,
Bessie told me that she first appeared in the Adoption Centers in 1995, so you probably have one of the early ones.
Some people like to "collect" earlier Beanies, so her "worth" is probably higher than a new tag issue.
REX
In a message dated 15/2/98 21:30:12, you wrote: <<dear rex,
hi! my name is jessica jennings and i have a question: how come some beanies are made with tags that don't belong to them? jessica>>
Hi Jessica,
That is because both people and machines make mistakes. Think of how easy it is at the Beanie Cloning Labs to forget to push the right button at the right time. Or for the preemie worker who can't read English and attaches the wrong tag because they were the ones on the pile beside her.
I bet even you make mistakes every now and then, no?
REX
In a message dated 10/2/98 20:38:24, you wrote: <<Hey there my main man Rex! I got a Grunt from a woman and I looked in a magazine and his tag was on his foot! Mine was on his ear! Is this still correct?Both tags were 4th generation(had a cute little poem inside) LMK ok! Adios! -Kristin Florida>>
Hi Kristin,
Your Grunt has his hang tag where it should be. Maybe the picture just made it look like it was on the poor thing's leg? Or maybe it was loose and was put in near Grunt?
REX
In a message dated 8/2/98 02:53:32, you wrote: <<HI! REX. I WAS WONDERING WHY SOME TAGS ARE WORTH MORE THAN OTHERS LIKE A 1ST GENERATION TAG IS LIKE $100 MORE THAN A 3RD GENERATION TAG THANKS FOR YOUR PRESIOUS TIME ASHLEY PAVLETICH?>>
Hello Ashley,
WOW, I had no idea that there was such a difference in adoption fees for a first generation hang tag! Because then the person is ONLY adopting a tag, NOT one of my Beanie pals!
Since a lot of "collectors" are adopting my Beanie pals, they seem to attach a higher "worth" to an older tag. That can be a bit tricky though! The hang tags are VERY easy to remove and replace with an older tag-- UNLESS my Beanie pal ONLY came with one kind of tag.
I have seen ads on the trading posts for just tags! WOW!! Imagine that you have a Royal Blue Peanut with no hang tag, and no one wants to adopt him because of that. Then you find somebody who has only the hang tag and he gives it to you in trade for a Bones, for example. You put the mint tag on your elephant and NOW you have a proverbial MINT WITH BOTH MINT TAGS Royal Blue! Can you imagine!
It can get even sneakier though. Sonny, my human friend, was recently emailed by a Canadian business man who said he had about 500 mint Special Olympic tags for the Canadian Maple bear. He wanted to sell them for $90 each!! WOW!! That is totally unfair! At least all my Beanie friends think so, especially Maple who says "hello"-- and "salut", in French!.
REX
In a message dated 8/2/98 02:07:36, you wrote: <<Hi, Rex, I know how you're always saying that a good friend is worth zillions (and I DO believe you're right), but I have a Pinky whose birthdate is written out, February 13, 1995, and there is also no style number on her swing tag. Is she "worth" more than other Pinkies, or do all Pinkies have that feature, or have I gotten an imposter? Thanks! Bethany (from West Virginia) >>
Hello Bethany,
It seems like the newer 5th generation tags do not have the style number on the inside of the tag and do have the birthday spelled out. Actually, the style number is on the back of the tag right below the bar code. I guess somebody at the printing company figured it was a waste of paper to have the style on the label twice (that's called "conservation" of natural resources), and they had enought space left over so they printed out the entire birthdate.
Britannia told me that since my Beanie pals are becoming more popular in Europe, the people that live there usually write the date a little different than you do here in the United States. They write the day before the month, so if you have "2.3.98" it would mean the 2nd of March to our European friends while to you that would mean the 3rd of February! Sonny, my best human friend, always writes his dates in the European style, probably because he studied and taught in Germany and Spain for many years.
I don't think that your Pinky is an "imposter". If she looks the same, feels the same, sits the same, and quacks the same it must be her!
REX
In a message dated 7/2/98 22:09:46, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, I've got a case to solve! I have a Lizzy w/ this poem:
Lizzy loves Legs the frog
She hides with him under logs
Both of them search for flies
Underneath the clear blue skies!
But in every single book and magazine that I've looked at, there was this peom:
Her best friend Legs was at her house waiting
Today is the day they go roller blading
But Lizzy Lou had to stay home
So Legs had to roller blade alone
I'm completely puzzled! I've been on this case for months,( 5 to be specific), and now I realized I'm not going anywhere with this case. Can you help me please? Your friend, Andrew T.>>
Hello Andrew,
Well, I called my American and Canadian Lizzys over to help me with this one. They showed me their hang tags and the poem is the same one you have. Maybe the poems in the books you read were put out by a roller blading company or something?
REX
In a message dated 5/2/98 17:38:35, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, Have you heard about the new 5th generation hang tags? Well I am wondering how some of the new retireds, like Lizzy, and Cubbie can have a 5th generation hang tag if they retired on Jan. 1, 1998, when the new hang tags came out on that same date? Thanks My name is Stephanie, age 13, of New York state >>
Hello Stephanie,
"New" hang tags just don't appear. They are a long time in the planning stage, so it is not difficult to see how you might find some "new" 5th generation tags on some of my recently retired Beanie pals.
It does take a while to get from the cloning centers to the nursery. It takes many months.
My friend Princess said that she even has two slightly different tush tags. WOW! And they both came out at the same time, just before last Christmas. One says "pvc" pellets and the other has "P.E." pellets. PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is that stuff they make those plastic pipes out of, and PE is probably another synthetic plastic substance.
It does get confusing sometimes, but you have to "know your stuff" to be able to figure it all out!
REX
In a message dated 25/1/98 23:59:11, you wrote: <<I have seen advertisements for beanies with 5th generation Tags - What is a 5th generation tag? Jason, Michigan, USA>>
Hello Jason,
If you look at all my Beanie pals in the nursery you would find that their paper labels, called "hang" or "swing" tags, have 5 main versions. These are what are called "tag generations". You can use the tag generations to sort of date the age of the Beanie. First generation tags would be older than those from the fifth generation.
Sonny, my friend, has pics of similar tags from another Ty collection on Attic Tag Generations-- check it out.
The style of the tags changes in other ways too. Even the cloth "tush" tag has several generations, and the type of letter, or "font" as it is called, used on the hang tags and the placement of different parts of the text also varies.
REX
In a message dated 25/1/98 18:56:25, you wrote: <<well here is my question: have you ever seen a first generation tag? Love, Jessica Serrett, Alabama >>
Hello Jessica,
I have seen all of the tags that all of my Beanie friends have. My human friend, Sonny, has a pic of a TY first generation tag from one of the Attic Collectibles-- which is very similar to the Beanie tag-- on his Attic pages. Check it out if you want.
REX
In a message dated 25/1/98 03:49:27, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, if a beanie baby has black handwritting on the tush tag, is it worth more than one with red writting? Thanks very much, Julie>>
Hi Julie,
I think you mean that it has printed stuff on it like all the other Beanies when they come from the Cloning Center?? Because IF it has actual "writing" on it, like with a pen or something, than that is another story. Any writing with a pen or whatever reduces the value of a totally "mint" Beanie.
The tush tags with black and white print on them are older than the newer ones with red print. YES, they are usually "worth" more than the newer tags, and usually have an earlier date on them. That would mean that the paper hang tag would be an older one also-- if it has one.
REX
In a message dated 19/1/98 02:26:22, you wrote: <<What constitutes a "Mint Tag"? Some of the tags at the retailers have slight, kind of scuff, marks on them. Probably from rubbing up against the other beanies in the shipping bags from Ty. Are these considered to be "Mint" or is "Mint" only AAA+, no mars, no scratches, no bends, no dents, no tears tags? Bill >>
Hello Bill,
A "mint" tag means exactly that-- minty fresh just as they usually come from the Beanie cloning center. No Mars (or Saturn for that matter!) scuffs, dents, bends, folds, tears, scratches, claw or tooth marks, sphagetti sauce, bear grease, price tag or sticky residue from taking the price tag off, or faded because they were exposed to the Sun or the core of a nuclear reactor.
The Ty company packs then usually well in plastic bags of 12 so that the tags don't get "scuffed" during shipment.
REX
In a message dated 13/1/98 01:02:45, you wrote: <<Dear REX, I have a ECHO w/WAVES tags and a WAVES w/ ECHo tags and the two regulars are they worth anything???????If so do you know??? JONNY>>
Hello Jonny,
All of your Beanies are worth zillions of those green paper things you call dollars. Do you know what other countries call their paper money? That would be a kewl project for school, like in Social Studies class.
Echo and Waves tell me that any of those cloth tags, called tush tags, that were mistakes are usually "worth" more than the normal correct tags.
REX
In a message dated 12/1/98 23:09:34, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, Hi, my name is Stephanie and I love beanie babie's, so here is my question. Why are some of the beanie tags in thin writing and others in thick? Please answer me >>
Hi Stephanie,
Do you like books that are always in the same type writing? I don't, and my friend Sonny has shelves full, and they all have different kinds of letters.
That's why we Beanies read so much because it never gets boring, and we always learn new things.
Change is kewl fun. Hey, even us Beanies sometimes change too.
REX
In a message dated 11/1/98 02:10:52, you wrote: <<How much is a Manny with a Tusk tag worth? >>
Hi,
You did not tell me what kind of tag?? Is it the soft cloth "tush" tag or the paper "hang tag" ??
If it would be the tush tag, for example the Echo that was given a Waves tag by mistake at the cloning laboratory, then his "value" would be higher than a dolphin with the correct cloth tag.
When the hang tag is wrong, like if you have a Peace with a paper Sly tag, then personally I think that it would be worth half of what it would be with a correct Peace tag. That's because when people say MINT, it means totally new with the hang tag it is supposed to have.
In the nursery we Beanies have a game we like to play a lot when the weather is bad outside. It's called NAME THAT TAG. A Beanie pal lends us his tag and we put it on another friend, and the rest of the Beanies have to guess which tag it is! It is kewl fun!! And the winner then emails a website and posts the incorrect tag he found for everybody to see. WOW!!
REX
In a message dated 7/1/98 21:38:02, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, I'm sorry to bother you so soon again, but I had another question. I am looking for a Sting to adopt, but I was curious about his poem. Could you tell me how it reads? Thank you again. Always, Michelle >>
Hi again Michelle,
Do you know how long it took me to get Sting out of the pond where he usually plays with Sonny's Koi fish?? I sent Splash and Flash in to get him, but then they all started playing with the fish! You should have seen how they even jumped up out of the water.
After about three hours Sting finally flew out of the pond and I gave him a towel to dry himself off and he came inside and let me read his poem :
I'm a manta ray and my name is Sting
I'm quite unusual and this is the thing
Under the water I glide like a bird
Have you even seen anything so absurd?
Visit out Website.
Somehow the part about the Website doesn't rhyme with the rest, does it!
BUT, what the poem doesn't tell you is that he can also "glide like a bird" through the air ! He is always flapping around the nursery with Caw. I once asked him how he does that.
He answered me with a question, "Does air flow?" "Of course it does", I replied. "So, you see, since water and air both flow, I can 'go with the flow' in both !" You know, I never thought about it like that before!
REX
In a message dated 3/1/98 06:56:19, you wrote: <<I recently saw your site and had a question I've een pondering, more like worrying about for months now! I recently saw Ally, to congratulate him on retirement, and I noticed he doesn't have a tag, or so it appeared, he didn't even have a hole for one! Was Ally born without a tag, if so, how much will it effect him without it?? I also loved your poem, I love to write poems to! Anyway, thank you for helping out Ally and me! We both appreciate it!! I also love to talk with Spike, and play football with him, I was wondering how long the average Rhino lives?? Thanks! Ryan >>
Ryan,
All Beanies are actually "born" without tags of any kind. The tags are added after birth as a way of keeping track of them when they finally move out of the nursery. This science is called Tagology, and is similar to how they do birds "banding" . Do you know why they band birds and how they do it?
Another way that scientists can keep track of where an animal goes is by attaching a tiny electronic transmitter that sends out a radio signal that can be tracked by satellite. This is a much better way to see where my Beanie friends roam, but the Beanies themselves say that the electronic thingy gives them the itches, so Ty decided not to use this method. That was a wise decision because the electronic device costs a lot of money and would have made the price of Beanies like in the thousands of dollars each! Do you know what the science of remote tracking of animals is called?
NO, even if Aly doesn't have a hang tag or a hole where it should have been, it doesn't make him any less an Ally, the alligator. He just told me that he thinks your question is kewl, and that he still feels great without the tag.
That's interesting. Spike is always playing football here too! It is his favorite sport, but he said to tell you he actually prefers playing the European version that they call Soccer. He even played with Real Madrid and Juventud a couple seasons.
Rhinos live a VERY long time, but Spike is one of those critters who never wants to tell you how old he really is! I even got him an extra order of fries the last time we went for fastfood, to try to get him to tell me. But, no luck. Why don't you do a Web Search for the word RHINO ? See if you get as many results as I did for dinosaur"!!
REX
in a message dated 1/1/98 18:16:24, you wrote: <<HI I always wanted to know why on the beanie hang tags why some hang tags are in one font and some others are in a differnt one? >>
Hannah,
Everything changes in life, even fonts. Imagine how my world looked millions of years ago-- we didn't have these kewl computers and stuff. Then again we talked a lot more because we had loads of time!
I like changes and have seen loads of them since I was born. Enjoy them because they make life more interesting. Even my friend Mystic has seen his horn magically changed-- and he really likes his new one!
REX
In a message dated 1/1/98 01:27:12, you wrote: <<How can we tell the difference between a real beanie babie and those fake ones we are hearing about. Can you explain what to look for on the tags and labels that can help us understand what is good and what is not. >>
Andrew,
Sometimes it is sort of difficult to tell the difference. There are two main things to look for
1. Quality of the Beanie-- the imposters are usually poorly made and look under fed. And the sewing and details are usually not the same quality as an original TY Beanie, and
2. the tags look ratty compared to the original ones-- less gold, uneven edges-- not as crisp and neat as the original.
As with anything, you have to have experience with Beanies to become an expert-- but usually even a ole dinosaur like me can tell the difference without too much thinking!
The other night we were are scared because we heard a window open and these two critters tried to get into the nursery. One looked sort of like Spooky and the other seemed like a starving Grunt. The fake spooky vanished into thin air before he got in-- POOF!-- and the poor grunt wouldn't eat anything that we Beanies gave him and he kept getting thinner and thinner until he just got so tiny he fell through a crack in the floor and we never saw him again.
REX
In a message dated 2/1/98 02:57:14, you wrote: <<Hi! My name is Barbara. I am wondering why on some beanie babies the butt tags have stars and some don't. Some even have a clear sticker over them. Please answer my question. Thank you!>>
Barbara,
Well, everything changes as time goes by. Just imagine the changes I have seen in the millions of years I have been around.
The tags without the stars are older than the new ones, and the clear sticker with the star on my Beanie friends soft, cloth "tush" tag ("butt" is not a very nice word!) is the soft tag just before the one they have now with the star printed on it.
You could do a research project and try to find all the different tags types you can and take photos of them and put them on your own web site so other people can learn something new. That would be kewl!
I really hate these new fangled computer things. My claws keep getting stuck in the keyboard! Peace usually helps me get unstuck. We only used to pile up rocks to calculate things in my time, and we actually talked to family and friends more.
REX