Today in things that smacked my gob...

I'm not great at saving money, I admit this. I'm sure I should be socking it away in some kind of retirement plan or a 401K but I have to do things like pay rent and eat food, and there's just not alot left over. Also, I'm not convinced that money will be super-useful in the barren wastelands of the future.

If Mad Max has taught us anything, it's that Mater Blaster runs
Bartertown. Not Exchange Worthless Pieces Of Paper From A
Defunct Civilization For The Basic Necessities Of Survival-Town. 

Are you in a house with an attic? Then
congratulations, there are probably at
least three copies up there right now.

That said, did you see this? Can you even believe that? I can not. I might even go so far as to say I'm astonished-no that's not the word. Maybe gobsmacked? Yes, I am smacked squarely in the gob that someone just bought a copy of Super Mario Bros. for $30,100.44. Yes, that figure again is thirty thousand, one hundred dollars and forty four cents. Of money. For the #1 best selling NES game ever. There are 40 million copies of this thing floating out there in used game stores, flea markets and garage sales, so again, $31,000.44.

Now, to be clear, Super Mario Bros. is a great game. I'm not arguing that. I'm only saying that this person just paid about $30,999 more than anyone has any business paying for it.

For $30,000 they could have bought this collection of every NES game ever
made, eight times over. Which I sure would also be a smart business move...

Hazily...I think it was a kind of
the earth-tone Target of its day.

Ok, obviously this isn't some random garage sale copy of the game. It's in perfect condition, in its original packaging and has been untouched by grubby human hands since the day someone at a factory vacuum sealed it and a small amount of New-Coke scented, Reagan-era atmosphere within its cellophane cocoon. It even still has its $26.99 price tag on it. From goddamn Caldor. Holy shit, do you remember Caldor? Anyway, while it is legitimately rare is it $30,000 rare?

Take this skyline drawing Donald Trump did, it's rare, but does that mean it's worth $30,000? Well, apparently yes it does because that's how much someone just bought it for last week. Bad example, I know, I really just wanted to mention that someone paid $30,000 for Trump's sharpie doodle. Moving on...

In a way it's reassuring, I mean, no one with an interest
in art ever turned out to be a disastrous leader, right?

"Yeah, but the Caldor sticker..."

-Undisclosed bidder's reasoning

I suppose something like this is only worth what someone is willing to pay and some undisclosed eBay bidder was willing. Very willing, in fact they went on to drop another 11 grand on another lot of sealed-in-box games-$40,000 in all-so what I guess what I want to know is why. Rarity sure, I sort of get that but that's a lot of money. To put things into perspective, $30,000 is more than a lot of Americans make in a year. It could pay for a college education (at a state school anyway) or a wedding or medical expenses for a family of four.

The point is that just because someone has money, they don't necessarily make good choices about what to do with it. Also another, I think equally important take-away here is that America has some seriously screwed up priorities. I mean, $30,000 for a wedding? I find that also smacks my gob.

"We just threw it on top of our already crippling student loan debts.
We'll never be able to retire, but we registered at Bed Bath and Beyond
so we'll be set for life when it comes to duvet covers and slow cookers."

-Some couple