Mighty Beanz™ are toys manufactured by Moose Enterprises, a corporation headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

An individual Mighty Bean is a three dimensional ovaloid with small flat circular ends on either side, rather like a large plastic capsule, approximately one inch long. These are frequently coloured with bright colours, and many of them bear cartoon likenesses of Marvel superheroes or other licensed characters. The Moose version of the toy was launched in 2003; similar toys have existed for years before.

The toys are hollow and contains a small, dense spheroid inside, which is not quite as long in diameter as the inside of the mighty bean to allow for movement. The Mighty Bean can stand up on either end because the spheroid is pulled over the centre by gravity. This pulls the centre of mass of the Mighty Bean over its tiny base, making it impossible for the Mighty Bean to fall down.

When a Mighty Bean is placed on a slant, instead of simply sliding down, the Mighty Bean falls on its side, and the spheroid rolls down and up the other end. In doing this, the ball rolls slightly up the other side of the Mighty Bean, causing the centre of mass to shift away from the Mighty Bean's long base, making it fall over. It stands vertically for a moment, and repeats the process.

Good Housekeeping warns that since these beans are small objects named after a foodstuff, they may represent a choking hazard to toddlers.

External link

• Mighty Beanz (http://www.mightybeanz.com/main/display.asp?pid=1) official site
• Good Housekeeping (http://magazines.ivillage.com/goodhousekeeping/consumer/safety/articles/0,,284526_614823,00.html) safety warning.

There's been a surprisingly large supply of bargain bin ($1.20 for a pack of 3 beanz) offers in the southern California area, both at Toys R Us and Kaybee Toys. I bought a pack and they all fall over. Rather, they will stand up if you carefully set them upright, but they will not self-right. They also do not exhibit the behavior described above when rolling down in inclined surface. Mine just roll down on their sides, without any wobbling.