{"id":7163,"date":"2026-07-31T21:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163"},"modified":"2026-07-31T21:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:40:10","slug":"what-makes-a-toy-go-viral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163","title":{"rendered":"What makes a toy go viral"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Squishy, slimy, fidgety toys are having a moment. But it’s more than just an anxiety-soothing, social-media fueled trend \u2013 these toys are reshaping how toys get made.<\/p>\n

Read more When it comes to climate change, is there a point when adaptation isn\u2019t enough?<\/a><\/p>\n

Today on the show, we have the story of the once-humble squishy dumpling and what it teaches us about how to make a viral hit and how to manufacture it, without getting left holding the bag. Hear it all firsthand from the creator of this trendy toy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Google adds AI to satellite images, raising fears of deepfakes in the sky<\/a><\/p>\n

Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletter<\/p>\n

Our weekly Indicator round-up newsletter<\/p>\n

Instagram<\/p>\n

TikTok<\/p>\n

YouTube<\/p>\n

Facebook<\/p>\n

Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Planet Money.<\/p>\n

Read more Keeping cool without AC: Our readers share their tips<\/a><\/p>\n

Planet Money Planet Money’s <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Squishy, slimy, fidgety toys are having a moment. But it\u2019s more than just an anxiety-soothing, social-media fueled trend \u2013 these toys are reshaping how toys get made.<\/p>\n

Today on the show, we have the story of the once-humble squishy dumpling and what it teaches us about how to make a viral hit and how to manufacture it, without getting left holding the bag. Hear it all firsthand from the creator of this trendy toy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read:\u00a0<\/em>
Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life<\/a>\u00a0
Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletter<\/a>
Our weekly Indicator round-up newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow:\u00a0<\/em>
Instagram<\/a>
TikTok<\/a>
YouTube<\/a>
Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org<\/a>. You\u2019ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Planet Money.<\/p>\n

This episode of <\/em>Planet Money was produced by Emma Peaslee. It was edited by Marianne McCune. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. It was engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is <\/em>Planet Money\u2019s executive producer.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Music: NPR Source Audio – “Melty Heart,” “Summer Escape,” and “Twilight Sparkle”<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-planet-money"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat makes a toy go viral - Best USA Movers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What makes a toy go viral - Best USA Movers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Squishy, slimy, fidgety toys are having a moment. But it\u2019s more than just an anxiety-soothing, social-media fueled trend \u2013 these toys are reshaping how toys get made.Today on the show, we have the story of the once-humble squishy dumpling and what it teaches us about how to make a viral hit and how to manufacture it, without getting left holding the bag. Hear it all firsthand from the creator of this trendy toy.\u00a0Read:\u00a0Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life\u00a0Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow:\u00a0InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookSupport public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You\u2019ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Planet Money.This episode of Planet Money was produced by Emma Peaslee. It was edited by Marianne McCune. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. It was engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money\u2019s executive producer.\u00a0Music: NPR Source Audio - "Melty Heart," "Summer Escape," and "Twilight Sparkle"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Best USA Movers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-31T21:40:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=7163#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=7163\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40\"},\"headline\":\"What makes a toy go viral\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-31T21:40:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=7163\"},\"wordCount\":184,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=7163#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f8651f77615f471ccaf0210bbc8bf928-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Planet Money\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=7163#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=7163\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=7163\",\"name\":\"What makes a toy go viral - Best USA Movers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=7163#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=7163#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f8651f77615f471ccaf0210bbc8bf928-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-31T21:40:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=7163#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=7163\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=7163#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f8651f77615f471ccaf0210bbc8bf928-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/f8651f77615f471ccaf0210bbc8bf928-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1440},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=7163#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What makes a toy go viral\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Best USA Movers\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What makes a toy go viral - Best USA Movers","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What makes a toy go viral - Best USA Movers","og_description":"Squishy, slimy, fidgety toys are having a moment. But it\u2019s more than just an anxiety-soothing, social-media fueled trend \u2013 these toys are reshaping how toys get made.Today on the show, we have the story of the once-humble squishy dumpling and what it teaches us about how to make a viral hit and how to manufacture it, without getting left holding the bag. Hear it all firsthand from the creator of this trendy toy.\u00a0Read:\u00a0Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life\u00a0Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow:\u00a0InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookSupport public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You\u2019ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Planet Money.This episode of Planet Money was produced by Emma Peaslee. It was edited by Marianne McCune. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. It was engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money\u2019s executive producer.\u00a0Music: NPR Source Audio - \"Melty Heart,\" \"Summer Escape,\" and \"Twilight Sparkle\"","og_url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163","og_site_name":"Best USA Movers","article_published_time":"2026-07-31T21:40:10+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40"},"headline":"What makes a toy go viral","datePublished":"2026-07-31T21:40:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163"},"wordCount":184,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f8651f77615f471ccaf0210bbc8bf928-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Planet Money"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163","url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163","name":"What makes a toy go viral - Best USA Movers","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f8651f77615f471ccaf0210bbc8bf928-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-31T21:40:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f8651f77615f471ccaf0210bbc8bf928-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f8651f77615f471ccaf0210bbc8bf928-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1440},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7163#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What makes a toy go viral"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/","name":"Best USA Movers","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bestusamoverss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}