A man once ingeniously traded a red paperclip for a house valued at $50,000.
Kyle MacDonald, hailing from Canada, drew inspiration from a game called Bigger and Better, which involves starting with an object and trading it for something of higher value.
The aim is to repeat this process as many times as possible to see what you end up with when the time is up.
In Kyle’s case, this strategy ultimately led to him owning a house worth $50,000.
If you’re wondering what kind of property you could get for $50,000 in 2024, rest assured that Kyle’s trades took place between 2005 and 2006, a time when housing prices were more accessible and the house he acquired was quite appealing.
Kyle executed this series of trades over roughly a year, each swap bringing him closer to his goal.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: “I knew it was possible. You can do anything if you put your mind to it.”
The blogger revealed that he had always wanted to own a house and decided to embark on this unconventional scheme to achieve it.
Speaking to AFP in 2006, he said: “My girlfriend and I paid rent for an apartment in Montreal and I’d always wanted to own my own house and this is how I decided to go about it. I think I may be the first to try it online.”
Starting with a red paperclip, Kyle’s journey of trades began.
He upgraded the paperclip to a novelty pen, which was then swapped for a ceramic doorknob.
Next, he traded the doorknob for a camping stove, complete with gas, and subsequently for a 1,000 watt generator.
After a brief confiscation by the fire department, Kyle managed to trade the generator for a beer keg with a neon sign and an IOU to fill it with beer.
The beer keg was then exchanged for a snowmobile, which he swapped for a trip to Yakh in British Columbia.
From there, he traded the trip for a box truck, followed by a recording contract at Metalworks studio.
This was then exchanged for a year’s rent in Phoenix, Arizona, which he traded for an afternoon with rock musician Alice Cooper.
In a surprising twist, he swapped the afternoon with Alice Cooper for a snow globe.
However, this was not just any snow globe; it was a collectors’ item, which he then traded with director Corbin Bernsen for a role in a movie.
Finally, in July 2006, he exchanged the movie role for a two-storey house in Kipling, Saskatchewan.
The house later became a cafe named Paperclip Cottage in honor of Kyle’s trades.
The BBC praised the stunt at the time, noting that it “demonstrated the power of the internet.”
Among the admirers who left comments on Kyle’s website were Heather and Dan, who wrote: “Hey, what a neat planet. We’re thinking of staying to see what happens next.”
Indeed, it was a time when the internet was a cool, quirky, and optimistic place.