Mighty Beanz
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Mighty Beanz are toys manufactured by Moose Enterprises, a corporation headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. Moose launched Mighty Beanz in the Australia market in 2002; the toy launched in the United States in summer, 2003. Mighty Beanz are no longer being produced, but the Beanz still do a brisk business in the collectibles market, especially on online auction sites.
An individual Mighty Bean is a three dimensional ovaloid with small flat circular ends on either side, rather like a large plastic capsule, approximately one inch long. Each Bean is decorated with a character's likeness -- usually an animal, a monster or a caricatured human. Besides the five main series of Mighty Beanz, Moose also produced licensed Beanz based on Marvel superheroes, The Simpsons, Pokémon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Some Mighty Beanz caricature famous people, including Hulk Hogan (#17, "Tuff Bean"); Steve Irwin (#86, "Bush Ranger Bean"); Leonard Nimoy (#105, "Space Trek Bean"); and Pamela Anderson (#165, "Life Saver Bean").
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[edit] The physics of Mighty Beanz
The toys are hollow and contain small, dense, magnetic spheroids, which are not quite as long in diameter as the inside of the beans, in order to allow for movement. A Mighty Bean can stand up on either end because the spheroid is pulled over the centre by gravity. This pulls the centre of mass of the Mighty Bean over its tiny base, making it impossible for the Mighty Bean to fall down.
When a Mighty Bean is placed on a slant, instead of simply sliding down, the Mighty Bean falls on its side, and the spheroid rolls down and up the other end. In doing this, the ball rolls slightly up the other side of the Mighty Bean, causing the centre of mass to shift away from the Mighty Bean's long base, making it fall over. It stands vertically for a moment, and repeats the process.
[edit] Series
Series 1: Beanz 1-60 (released in America July 2003, retired December 2003)
Series 2: Beanz 61-130
Series 3: Beanz 131-190
Series 4: Beanz 191-250
Series 5: Beanz 251-300
Marvel Series 1: 1-56 (released 2004)
Marvel Series 2: 57-116 (released 2005)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 29 Beanz (released 2004)
Pokémon: 60 Beanz (released 2005)
The Simpsons: 40 Beanz
There is also a series of "Classic Mighty Beanz", updated versions of Beanz from the first two series.
[edit] Rare Beanz
Mighty Moose also produced "Limited Edition Moose Beanz" that aren't included in the usual series numbering. The Limited Edition Beanz are extremely rare. Moose Enterprises released 1000 of the following Limited Edition Beanz: Dr. Nutz Bean, Albino Bean, Space Invader Bean, Blastbot Bean, Skull Pirate Bean, Ghost Bean, Nose Picker Bean, Smiley Bean, Lightning Ranger Bean, Big OG Homie Bean, Medusa Bean, Pupil Bean, Chuck Bean, Squirmy Wormy Bean, Space Bug Bean, Loco Homie Bean, Zit Bean, G Dog Homie Bean, and Assassin Bean. Some were produced in even smaller numbers: Wizzy Bean, Lizzy Bean and Dizzy Bean (500 each), Scarecrow Bean (200 released) and Breakout Bean (100 released).
Moose Enterprises also produced the rare "Mighty Moose Beanz", featuring the Moose Enterprises mascot. 1000 Mighty Moose Beanz were released in each country where Mighty Beanz were sold, color-coded for the country. For example, Australia's Mighty Moose Bean has a gold bottom, Canada's is red, the USA's is gray and Korea's is purple.
There are also "Limited Edition Mighty Moose Beanz" with the Moose in various costumes, including Super Moose Bean, Adventure Moose Bean, Surfer Moose Bean and Scuba Moose Bean.
