How did this all start?

[npa589]

Lab technician in Wuhan.


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[wolf441]

Originally Posted by npa589

Lab technician in Wuhan.


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Well played.

[Fred]

Originally Posted by npa589

Lab technician in Wuhan.


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Dang, all along I thought that was just a conspiracy theory. Gotta be true if you heard on the internet.

[butchie_t]

Wet bats in china.

[Snapolit1]

On a broader scale, I’d say Covid and Michael Jordan ESPN special.

[raulus]

Not really an individual, but…

Near zero interest rates.

Lots and lots and lots of stimulus payments.

Suspended/optional rent, student loan, and mortgage payments.

Everyone locked inside and not able to leave the house, causing them to dig through their old hobbies.

Plus nothing else to throw your money at, except for crypto.

[Natswin2019]

Originally Posted by raulus

Not really an individual, but…

Suspended/optional rent, student loan, and mortgage payments.

Man i wanna know where this suspended and optional rent was. That sounds amazing

[todeen]

Originally Posted by Natswin2019

Man i wanna know where this suspended and optional rent was. That sounds amazing

WA State suspended evictions, which meant renters didn't need to pay. So they didn't. I paid because I didn't want my last name to be synonymous to pond scum.

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[brunswickreeves]

If there was a ‘who’ started the frenzy and run up, I’d say Rob Gough who paid a record $5.2MM for a ‘52 Topps Mick PSA 9 in January 2021 (https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/01/14/mi...-breaks-record).

Then about 1 week later, one of the great last living HOFers Hank Aaron passed away. There was a lot of buzz in and about the card collecting industry and market at/after that time. Covid had been around for 1 year by then, and people realized it wasn't going to be the end of times, so didn't need to hoard their cash. Ongoing lockdown put more cash in people's pockets from government stimulus and savings from commuting, leaving more for discretionary spending.

The lockdown also put more time on people's hands, so had more opportunity to reconnect with or enter the hobby as an investment. Pre-Feb 2021 you could eBay best offer sellers on any vintage HOFer for a 15-25% discount. Now, you really need to be the highest bidder in an auction or take a chance on an upgraded card. Some cards pre-Feb 2021 included: 52 Topps Mick in PSA 1 for $15K. 48 Leaf Ruth in SGC A for $500. 53 Topps Mays in PSA 2 for $450. 52 Topps Mays in PSA 1 for $450 and $1600 in PSA 2. 09 T206 Cobb Red in PSA A for $1500. 51 Bowman Mays in PSA 1 for $1500. Most of these cards and others have doubled, tripled or better in past couple of years.

[JollyElm]

Obviously, it was Joe Exotic, "The Tiger King." Duh!!

[jthorst75]

Kobe RIP #24. It was all down hill after that...

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Fred

Dang, all along I thought that was just a conspiracy theory. Gotta be true if you heard on the internet.

You can't possibly be serious, right?

I subscribe to nearly zero conspiracy theories. I'm also a scientist who demands pretty remarkable evidence before I'd believe something to be true. And even I would place the likelihood of the COVID origins as having come from the lab in Wuhan at very near 100%.

The conspiracy theory, in this case, would be that it, in fact, did not originate from the BSL-3 lab that just so happens to be right across the river from the breakout and which just so happens to F* with bat coronaviruses, to begin with.