27 Mar, 2008
Illinois-Shaped Corn Flake Sells for $1,350 on eBay
CHICAGO — Two sisters from Virginia sold their Illinois-shaped corn flake on eBay Friday night for $1,350.
"We were biting our nails all the way up to the finish, seeing what would happen," said Melissa McIntire, 23. "There's a lot of relief involved."
The winner of the auction, which lasted more than a week, is the owner of a trivia Web site who wants to add the corn flake to a traveling museum.
"We're starting a collection of pop culture and Americana items," said Monty Kerr of Austin, Texas. "We thought this was a fantastic one."
Kerr owns TriviaMania.com and said he will likely send someone to Virginia to pick up the flake by hand, so it won't be damaged. This isn't the first corn flake that Kerr has tried to buy. He said he purchased a flake billed as the world's largest, but that by the time it was delivered it had crumbled into three pieces.
McIntire and her sister Emily, 15, listed the corn flake on eBay last week, but eBay canceled the auction saying it violated the Web site's food policy.
The sisters restarted their Ebay auction, advertising a coupon redeemable for their corn flake, instead of the cereal itself.
The McIntires said they'll likely use the money for a family vacation.
Copycat items have popped up on eBay, including corn flakes shaped like Hawaii and Virginia. There's also been a potato chip shaped like Florida, and Illinois corn flake paraphernalia, including T-shirts and buttons.
photo & story courtesy foxnews.com, 3/22/08
Flaky spending
Luke 12:33 (NLT)
33
According to today's God's Story scripture, what does our use of money reveal about our character or values?
Tyndale's LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE notes explain:
12:33 Money seen as an end in itself quickly traps us and cuts us off from both God and the needy. The key to using money wisely is to see how much we can use for God's purposes, not how much we can accumulate for ourselves. Does God's love touch your wallet or purse? Does your money free you to help others? If so, you are storing up lasting treasures in heaven. If your financial goals and possessions hinder you from giving generously , loving others, or serving God, sell what you must to bring your life into line with God's purposes.
OK, my intent here is not to condemn the person who spent $1350 on a corn flake or those who will pay money to go see it as part of some traveling museum show. It might just be my opinion, but you have to be sort of a "flake" to do either!
With $1350, you could adopt three third-world children (feed, clothe, and educate them) for an entire year!
But if we're honest, we all waste money don't we? How many clothes, how many speciality coffees, how much entertainment is OK?
Well that's between you and God, but if we're serious about our financial story connecting with God's Story, we'll discover that loving people with eternity in mind is at the core of God's perspective on money.
How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?
- In prayer, open up your heart and bank account to God every day and give it back to Him to use for His purposes.
- Keep track of your daily spending (everything....bills, entertainment, a soft drink here and there...) for one month and let God help you make any needed changes to help you line up your life with His eternal purposes.
- Whenever you eat any cereal with flakes in the near future, let God remind you to spend your money wisely.
How can we connect today's story and God's Story scripture and our story to others?
This would be a good conversation with your friends who follow Christ and with those who don't. Bring up the story of the $1350 corn flake and get their take on the story. Would they pay money to go see it? Will they start looking in their breakfast bowls for possible treasure? Have some good laughs but share what you learned in today's God's Story scripture...how Jesus is asking us to think about our perspective on money...how you waste money...how you'd like to change your perspective...listen for their response...
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