Buzz
By Dylan Moore, University of Arkansas
Some costly items that people choose to spend their money on—like jet skis, yachts, or anything water-related—are quite impressive. However, some are just strange... and others are utterly ridiculous.
1. A stone that resembles meat
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2. Shirt Designed by Kanye West
Designer t-shirts can come with a hefty price tag. Sometimes it’s due to the use of luxurious fabrics, which is understandable. Other times, it’s because of the designer’s fame: The more popular they are, the pricier their shirts become. That makes sense, right? But why is a shirt designed by Kanye West (an extremely famous figure) labeled as “pointlessly” expensive? Let’s take a look at this shirt:
Colorful Lines
It’s simply a plain white cotton t-shirt priced at $120. Sure, it was created in collaboration with the high-end label A.P.C. (with “A.P.C. Kanye” even printed on the interior neckline), and it’s made from 100 percent Egyptian cotton, but still—this shirt isn’t exactly revolutionary. You could find a similar one for at least a hundred dollars less almost anywhere else.
3. Diamond-Encrusted Contact Lenses
For those with less than perfect vision—who also prefer to avoid glasses or traditional (i.e., invisible) contacts—there's an option: diamond contact lenses. "If your eyes are sparkling with diamonds, no one can look away,” says creator Chandrashekhar Chawan of Shekhar Eye Research. How much will it cost to give your eyes that extra sparkle? A modest $15,000.
4. Million-Dollar Fishing Lure
BoingBoing
Fishing has traditionally been a simple activity, requiring just a pole, some line, and a lure. A cheap, basic lure. But if you have a bit more cash to spare, you could opt for a $1 million lure—crafted from three pounds of gold and platinum and adorned with diamonds and rubies—which probably won’t improve your catch rate.
5. Toilet Paper
Renova
If you believe your behind deserves more than plain white toilet paper, you can buy TP in various colors—black, blue, pink, purple, green, and more. The cheapest option is a two-pack for $6. While that’s far less expensive than some of the other items on this list, it’s still quite pricey compared to regular old toilet paper, which costs less than $1 per roll.
6. Parking Spot
It's difficult to put a price on a coveted parking spot, but one thing is clear: People are willing to pay a hefty sum for one. Recently, a single space in San Francisco sold for $82,000, and two parking spots in Boston were auctioned off for $560,000.
7. Snoop's Digital Pot Sticker
CNET
Marijuana can be pricey, so it stands to reason that other cannabis-related items would be similarly expensive. And, as with the Kanye example, attaching a famous name would logically increase the price, right? So it makes sense that people are shelling out just under $100 for digital pot stickers from Snoop Lion (through his app, Snoopify). Yes, stickers. Well, not real stickers. Digital ones.
8. Gold and Diamond Game Boy
SlashGear
Game Boys were pretty amazing. But now that the classic handheld console is outdated, you’d think it would be relatively inexpensive, right? Well, not if it’s wrapped in gold and diamonds—that’ll set you back $25,000. Which is a shame, because the gold and diamonds are crucial for the system’s performance. How could you possibly play Pokemon Gold if the Game Boy itself isn’t covered in gold? It just doesn’t add up.
9. Gold-Plated Staples
Luxuo
Want those little metal fasteners holding your papers together to be covered in gold? Like most gold-plated items, this makes no real sense. (And we’re pretty sure you could just spray paint staples gold and get the same effect.) Twenty-four of them will cost you $210.
