25 Fun Facts for Neopets’ 25th Anniversary

Whether you are a long-time resident of Neopia or visiting for the very first time and meeting your first furry Neopet, take a moment to revel in all things Neopets with 25 fun facts.

1. Neopets was launched on November 15, 1999, by Adam Powell and Donna Powell.
2. Neopets was initially created for college students, not kids. Some early humor was later removed to reflect the younger audience.
3. The world where Neopets live is called Neopia, and it’s divided into several regions, including Mystery Island, the Haunted Woods, and the Lost Desert.
4. In 2006, the Neopian economy faced a massive inflation crisis due to a bug in the system that allowed users to generate free Neopoints, causing a significant economic imbalance.
5. The “Baby” paintbrush color was originally a mistake; it was used as a joke and became so popular that it was offered as a permanent feature.
6. Neopia has its own newspaper called the Neopian Times, which features stories, articles, and comic strips created by players and the site’s team.
7. There was once a glitch in the Neopian Times, the in-game newspaper, where a single issue was accidentally printed with the entire text in binary code.
8. The infamous “Rainbow Fountain Paint Brush” is considered extremely rare and valuable.
9. Players can create and submit their own art, stories, and other content to be featured on the site.
10. In 2004, Neopets had a collaboration with McDonald's, offering Happy Meal toys that came with exclusive virtual items.
11. The site had planned to launch a "space station expansion," with entirely new characters, shops, and games, but it was scrapped due to budget constraints. This concept was later reworked into Virtupets as space stations.
12. Ashton Kutcher was briefly involved in the early promotion of Neopets, pitching it as a "cool new thing" during an MTV appearance in the early 2000s.
13. The most popular Neopet species has historically been the Shoyru, a small dragon-like creature with a cute design and strong stats. Other popular Neopets include Kacheek, Xweetok, and Acara.
14. Less popular species include Tuskaninny, Quiggle, Moehog, Gnorbu, and Skeith.
15. The most expensive item ever sold in Neopets is the “Tornado Ring,” which sold for 800 million Neopoints. This is a powerful battledome item.
16. In 2004-2005, Neopets had around 5 million daily active users; this was its most populous time.
17. Neopets hosts annual charity drives where players can donate Neopoints or items to support real-world causes.
18. There is a trading system where players can exchange items, pets, and other resources with each other.
19. Neopia has its own virtual mall where players can buy items, paintbrushes, and other special goods with Neocash.
20. Neopets do not age or die, but they can get sick or need to be fed and groomed regularly to keep them happy.
21. Neopets has hosted several site-wide plot events that involve the entire community working together to solve mysteries or challenges.
22. Pets in Neopia can have their own smaller pets called Petpets. They can be adopted and cared for separately.
23. There was a spin-off game called "Petpet Park," launched in 2008, focusing on the petpets, but it was shut down in 2014.
24. Neopets has a wide variety of games, from simple puzzles to complex strategy games. Some popular ones include “Cheopet” and “Kacheek Seek.”
25. Neopets has been noted to be a very “sticky” website, meaning that visitors are likely to stay on the Neopets pages longer than on most websites.