One Red Paperclip

From paper clip to house in 14 trades

Participant: Kyle

Hypothesis: That by making tiny trade-ups one at a time, he could start off with one red paperclip and end up with a house.

Summary: Actually, I think the success of this experiment was mostly due to Kyle's incredible enthusiasm and marketing skills as much as anything else. All the same, he did succeed. His chain of trades went as follows:

One red paperclip
was traded for a pen shaped like a fish
which he traded for a doorknob
which he traded for a Coleman stove (BBQ-like thing)
which he traded for a generator
which he traded for a keg of beer and a neon sign = instant party
which he traded for a radio host's snowmobile
which he traded for a trip to Yahk
which he traded for a van
which he traded for a recording contract
which he traded for a year in Phoenix
which he traded for an afternoon with Alice Cooper
which he traded for a KISS snowglobe
which he traded for a role in a movie
which he traded for a house!

Way to go, Kyle!

Lemonade stands are for kids

The bottled water experiment

Participant: Neville

Hypothesis: You can start making money with less than $10 in start-up capital.

Summary: Neville bought a 24-pack of bottled water ($5.99), two bags of ice ($2.58), and enlisted a homeless guy named Barry to help him sell the water on the side of the road. They hawked the water at $1 per bottle and sold out within 30 minutes. He made a profit of $15.43, from which Barry got $10.

A few weeks later Neville reran the experiment, this time leaving Barry to do the selling on his own. The deal was that Neville would cover all expenses (ice-chest, ice, water, and a sandwich for Barry: total cost $49.44), and Barry would do all the work. Then they would split the proceeds fifty:fifty. Unfortunately they picked a cloudy day where no one much wanted to buy the water, and they only sold half their stock (making them $30 each). So Barry got a pretty good deal, while Neville lost $19.44. Neville said he planned to keep on with the experiment, but he doesn't seem to have posted about it again.

No one cares what you had for lunch

Spending $1 or less on food every day for a month

Participant: Evan

Hypothesis: That you can survive in America on a food budget of $30 per month.

Summary: You can do it. It's just not any fun. Q&A here.

In total, Evan spent $27.28 on food in November. He calculated it saved him $212.22, which is what he donated to a food bank at the end of the experiment. He also lost 18 pounds. And ate a lot of rice.

Home is where your soggy sleeping bag is

Living for a year in a ditch

Participant: Original Ditch Monkey

Hypothesis: (1) If he lived in the woods for six weeks, people might be so impressed they would donate lots of money to the Woodland Trust. (2) If he could do it for six weeks, he could do it for a year. (3) If he could do it for a year in the tame forests of England, he could do it in the Amazon jungle.

Summary: Ditch Monkey experimented with living in the woods without any creature comforts, but continued commuting during the day to his office job in London. The six week version of the experiment went so well (after he got used to being snuffled at by badgers, soaked with rain, and hassled by glue-sniffers), that he decided to extend it for an entire year. The whole thing is documented on his blog. He is currently trying to raise funds to go and do the whole thing again... in the Amazon Rainforest.

We, although people keep dropping out so its only me, are going to live in the jungle for a year; sleep in hammocks, catch fish, cook over an open fire, survive off the land that sort of thing. How hard can it be?

There is such a thing as a free lunch

The $39 experiment

Participant: Tom Locke

Hypothesis: That writing random begging letters to companies might persuade them to send him free products.

Summary: Tom had a $39 roll of stamps, and he decided to see if he could grow this investment by writing to companies and asking for free stuff. So he sent letters like this one:

Dear Sir or Madam:
I have to tell you – I love your chicken. It's the best fried chicken around. The breading... I could eat a bucket full of just the breading. Breading and skin. That's the ticket! Anyway, your chicken is outstanding. If I weren't afraid of being arrested, I'd go to KFC to lick other people's fingers – that's how much I like your chicken. Please send me a coupon for a free chicken, so that I do not have to resort to licking strangers' fingers. Thank you in advance,
Tom Locke, fried chicken enthusiast

From 100 such letters, he got free stuff from 35 companies, at a total value of $275. He then auctioned the stuff online, and donated the proceeds to the American Heart Association.