Adam Maguire

They had this backstory that the company Colco had built around them, you know, their origin, the fact that they insisted people were adopting them rather than buying them and so on.

In 1983, riots broke out in many shops in the US as people tried to get their hands on the dolls.

Reports of people breaking limbs, shopkeepers wielding baseball bats to try and keep control of the madness.

They sold 3.3 million dolls in the US in 83.

It would have been much more if they'd been able to keep up with demand.

In 84, global sales hit 20 million.

The company had $2 billion in revenues that year.

Much like the tulips, though, the company overextended.

They overshipped.

The consumers lost interest.

By 1986, sales fell to $800 million.

By 1988, when the company went bust, sales had practically fallen to zero.

Yeah, this is probably one of the most hyped products in living memory.

Unveiled by Steve Jobs in January 2007.

It didn't hit the shelves in the US until late June of the same year.

Consumers in Europe didn't get their hands on it until the end of the year.

And in Ireland, it was actually March 2008 before you could buy one.

Part of the reason for that was Apple was trying to keep it under wraps, so they couldn't start manufacturing it until it was unveiled.

But it did build up anticipation.

Many people queued for long periods to get one.