When the NFL and MLB began using bobblehead dolls as promotional tools in the early '60s, they sparked an obsession with the trinkets. After a two-decade slump in popularity beginning in the '70s, the bobblehead stormed back after the San Francisco Giants distributed a Willie Mays figure at a 1999 game.

Today, the bobblehead business is anything but wobbly. John Brey, who runs auction Web site nodderexchange.com [3] and deals exclusively in these "cute and innocent" vintage dolls, says that most sell for $200, but a limited-edition Washington Redskins figure brought in $18,000 last year. The Missouri company TheBobblehead.com [4] offers customized figurines (it costs $400 to turn yourself into a bobblehead) and "heroic-size" dolls -- 8 feet tall and $7,600.

But the average new bobblehead now retails for $20, making it "all about kitsch and affordability," says Brian Mariotti, president of Washington firm Funko, which makes Star Wars and Marvel dolls. Coming soon: Jersey Shore bobbleheads. "Put a bobblehead on your desk, and it's funny," he says. "Put a plain action figure on your desk, and people think you live in your mom's basement."

Bumblebee From Transformers 2 Funko	Sarah Palin TheBobblehead.com [4]	Jimi Hendrix Funko
Winston Churchill Royal Bobbles	Mr. Met Forever Collectibles	Drew Brees TheBobblehead.com [4]
Carol From Where The Wild Things Are Funko	Charles Ponzi TheBobblehead.com [4]	Invasion of the Saucer Men Funko

Photographs by DYLAN GRIFFIN