Beanies have also been put to non-profit use: military veterans persuaded Ty to make Buddy Poppy, a white pup covered head-to-paw in poppies and used to teach schoolchildren about veterans and war.

ECONOMIST: Toy collecting: Beanie here, got mine | The

The team checked the responses of seal mothers by recording the number of pup checks made (where the mother raises her head off the ground and moves it in the direction of her young to check their well-being) during a specific time period.

BBC: Seal pup