We’re now somehow 15 years removed from the Balloon Boy incident. Crazy. 

In honor of the anniversary, Topps RIPPED ran a great story (h/t @nando ) on the Allen & Ginter Balloon Boy cards, which contain pieces of the infamous balloon. But here’s the twist: the man who originally bought the balloon in an auction says that he sold a slice of it to Topps for the cards, then hung the rest of the balloon in his collectibles shop where it became a tourist attraction. Eventually it started to fall apart and degrade, so he rolled it up and threw it away. 

It was a quiet end to a peculiar piece of history, but it does bring up something very interesting – the only remaining pieces of that balloon, one of the last big events that held an entire nation’s attention, rapt, for at least 40 minutes, are in Topps cards. That balloon is gone. The basket is gone. But the tiny pieces of it are still in the cards, which pop up on eBay every now and then for about $15 (which will likely spike now, as it just became a very scarce relic… not that we’re giving you investment advice here... or are we?).

Read more here from Mail Day: https://www.onmantel.com/news/balloon-boy-relics-monopoly-misfires-and-the-acolyte-conundrum-f4dd8216-3bc4-4578-8151-8bae66c43cb2

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