Monday, March 17, 2008

Just when you think people cannot get any dumber ...

CHICAGO - The latest eBay bidding war has broken out over a piece of breakfast cereal that is touted as looking like the state of Illinois. Bids are being taken for the item listed by two sisters as “The Great Illinois Corn Flake”. They promise that the piece of cereal, from a box of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, has undergone no alteration.
Emily McIntire, 15, from Chesapeake, Virginia, said that she almost ate the 2-inch flake because she was rushing to get to school. “It was almost to my mouth, it didn't look like Illinois at first because it was held the wrong way,” she told reporters. She then noticed the resemblance and said: “Oh my goodness, it's Illinois.” Her 23-year-old sister, Melissa, said that their parents suggested selling it for fun. They are offering free shipping to Illinois.
It's here, so you can post your bid. It's a shame if you don't live in Illinois, because you'll have to pay postage. What's it weigh - a tenth of an ounce?
Bidding ends on the 20th and it's up to (really) and after 76 of them, it's at $180,300 now. I'm thinking that there's some irony in the fact that the photo of the flake positions it next to a dime, which is about nine cents more than I think it's worth.
One funny thing - if you do a search for "Illinois Corn Flake" you get 26 results. There are copy-cat corn flakes out there gang, so make sure you're getting your money's worth. Um ... yeah.
Another funny thing is that eBay allows such nonsense. Occasionally there will be the [everyday object] that resembles the Virgin Mary or a Jesus Pancake or some other religiously inspired breakfast food. Supposedly, those items fetch large sums of money, but I've yet to hear of anyone actually collecting.
I'm not sure what the contractual obligation is for a $180,000 bid on anything, let alone a corn flake, but I would hazard a guess that the bidders are either personal friends or complete wackos who are running this thing up in order to (a) make their penis erect or (b) drum up business for eBay - or both.
I'm anxious to see the cancelled check or Paypal payment and until I do, I'd figure that people really cannot be this shit-all stupid to pay six-figures for food.
Can they?

No comments: