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A House For One Red Paperclip
Tim_F writes to mention the news that Kyle MacDonald (the guy trying to trade a red paperclip for a house) has succeeded in his quest. His recently traded a KISS Snowglobe in exchange for one afternoon with Alice Cooper. He in turn traded the snowglobe to an enthusiastic snowglobe collector, for a role in a movie. From the article: "Now, the town of Kipling, Sask., located about two hours east of Regina with a population of 1,100, has offered MacDonald a farmhouse in exchange for the role in the movie. MacDonald and his girlfriend will fly to the town next Wednesday. 'We are going to show them the house, give them the keys to the house and give them the key to the town and just have some fun,' said Pat Jackson, mayor of Kipling."
Wouldn't he have accomplished his goal quicker if he started with a red stapler? ...or would have have had to burn the house down when he finally got it?
So what?
He has a farmhouse in the town of Kipling, Sask.? So...? Why stop now? If he could trade that for two red paperclips, doubling his original investment, I'd be impressed.
I'll probably be modded down for this...
It would be ironic if he died of a paper cut that could have been prevented by a paperclip.
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
you've heard all the stories about guys in the military during WWII trading whiskey for bullets or other such things, well, my buddy and i came upon a huge spool of single mode fiber optic cable - Like, dining room table sized. Anyhow, our plan was to trade up the spool of fiber to an F-15 that we could share since we were in the Air Force.
we got as far as finding a guy that would take the spool from us after we used all the fiber... oh well.
Best laid plans and all....
guns kill people like spoons make Rosie O'Donnell fat.
I think he should keep on trading up. I'm sure someone somewhere would be willing to trade this house for something better. There seems to be no limit now...
News from the future:
"This just in. We have learned today that Mr. Kyle MacDonald has just acquired the entirety of the United States of America."
"I, for one, welcome our barter-trading overlord."
Because it's an opportunity for people to write Funny +5 comments.
Apparently, on Slashdot, that is reason enough...
Houses in Saskatchewan are only worth one paperclip? I'm going down to Office Depot to get a case of red paperclips and then I'm buying the whole province.
I've watched both the videos on the site a number of times and I still have to say Canadian accents are impossible to understand. I can only barely pick out the names, the rest might as well be in french for all I could make of it.
Saskatchewan is one of those places where you can watch your dog run away for a couple of weeks. This is not so with cats or hamsters (too disorganized and buffalo food respectively). Fish still refuse to live in the province.
It clearly encapsulates how utterly powerful the internet as a medium for interaction on a world-wide scale has become over the last few decades. From such humble DARPA beginnings to an entity capable of brokering amazingly complicated details (hundreds of thousands of times a day, for that matter), the internet is THE technological advancement of our lifetime.
How isn't that news for nerds / stuff that matters?
Oh, a "red" paperclip, is it?
Do I detect a not-so-subtle anticapitalist polemic at work here??
[Two guys on the porch of a rickety farmhouse]
Knock Knock Knock. "I don't think he's answering." KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Creak, crack, stomp stomp stomp, squeeeeeeeeek, "Oh, hello guys! What can I do for you?"
Well, Old MacDonald, it's about your farm. We're from the Canadian Revenue Agency and we have a few questions to ask you regarding the taxes you did or did not pay on the transactions you made from paperclip to farm house. Would you please put these handcuffs on so we can converse in a calm environment?"
E Proelio Veritas.
nice house.... but did the paperclip run Linux?
I've never Kippled. What's it like?
Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.
Kyle MacDonald: "One Red Paperclip" - NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE!
See! the hit comic action adventure drama, starring Will Smith as Kyle MacDonald, Uma Thurman as his long suffering girlfriend, and Lindsay Lohan as the paperclip.
Hear! Will Smith's amusing remarks as he trades pieces of junk for larger, more profitable junk!
Cry! when Will Smith unwittingly trades a van for a piece of paper, almos losing long-time girlfriend Uma Thurman.
Laugh! when it turns out the piece of paper was a recording contract!
Based on a true life story! (Some liberties taken; various items replaced by famous celebrities and the internet replaced by word-of-mouth of the quirky inhabitants of Will Smith's home town in Northern California).
Sample the from riveting novelization:
"CHAPTER 1. It started with this paperclip. Then he trades it in for a pen. Then, like, he trades it in again, but for a doorknob... Then he goes and trades it for a coleman stove. Then he trades the stove for James Woods. 'Hey, buddy.' Says James Woods, 'I'm James Woods.' 'Beleeve dat,' says Will Smith - his catchphrase for the film."
Dammit! I've been out-obscured.
* And remember, it's spelled N-e-t-s-c-a-p-e, but it's pronounced "Mozilla."
Hey, I have a Jenna Jameson doll which I intend to trade up to the real thing.