Hey there! Welcome to a fun journey into the world of online shopping. Did you know that someone once sold a haunted cane online for a whopping $65,000? That’s just one of the many fascinating stories about online shopping that we’re going to explore today. Let’s dive in!
People have bought some pretty strange things on the Internet. For example, in 2006, a Canadian man started with a simple red paperclip and traded it online until he ended up with a house! He made 14 trades, swapping items like a camp stove, a snowmobile, and even a whole town along the way.
In another wild story, a man in Australia sold everything he owned, including his house and car, for $305,000 after a tough divorce. He used the money to travel to 31 countries and even met a new wife!
Back in 2004, an online casino bought a haunted cane for $65,000. The cane’s owner believed it was haunted by her father’s ghost. The casino also bought other odd items, like foods that looked like religious figures and even a celebrity’s kidney stone.
And if you’re feeling left out, you can buy a potato with anything you want written on it for just $9.99. It’s a quirky and affordable way to join the fun!
Online shopping isn’t just about finding weird stuff; it’s also about scoring great deals. During the 2018 holiday season, Americans spent nearly $124 billion online. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are especially popular for finding bargains.
Electronics and tech gadgets often have the best discounts during the holidays. If you’re using a Discover card, they even match all the cash back you earn at the end of your first year. It’s a smart way to save money!
During the holiday season, you can find amazing deals on pet supplies, books, and even online courses. Some courses are as cheap as $10! It’s a great time to learn something new.
Travel deals are also hot during this time. You can find discounts on flights and hotels, making it a perfect opportunity to plan a trip. Plus, high-end beauty brands often slash their prices, so it’s a good time to treat yourself or someone special.
Let’s take a trip back in time to see how online shopping began. In the early 1970s, university students made one of the first online trades, but it wasn’t exactly legal. By the 1980s, people started using forums to auction items online.
In 1994, the first secure online purchase was made when someone bought a CD for $12.48. This was possible because of new technology that kept transactions safe. By 1998, people could even buy and print stamps online.
In 2008, shopping apps became popular, making it easier to shop from your phone. Before that, people had to use regular internet browsers on their computers.
One of the earliest online shopping stories comes from 1984. A 72-year-old woman with a broken hip ordered groceries online using her TV, five years before the World Wide Web was invented. She used a special remote to connect to her supermarket and ordered items like margarine and eggs. The groceries were delivered to her home, and she paid in cash.
This early form of online shopping was called “teleshopping” and was designed to help people with mobility issues. It was simple and only took her 15 minutes to learn.
Thanks for joining us on this journey through the world of online shopping. We hope you enjoyed these stories and learned something new!
Imagine starting with a simple item like a paperclip. Your task is to trade it with classmates for something of greater value. Keep trading until you reach the most valuable item you can. Document each trade and share your journey with the class. This will help you understand the concept of value and negotiation in online shopping.
Using a list of unusual items, search online to find the best deals for each. Compare prices across different platforms and note any discounts or special offers. This activity will teach you how to navigate online marketplaces and find the best deals.
Create a timeline of the history of online shopping, starting from the 1970s to the present. Include key events like the first secure online purchase and the introduction of shopping apps. Present your timeline to the class to enhance your understanding of how online shopping has evolved.
Imagine you have a budget of $100 to spend online. Plan a shopping spree, focusing on getting the best deals and discounts. Share your shopping list and explain why you chose each item. This will help you practice budgeting and smart shopping strategies.
Design a marketing campaign for a quirky online product, like a personalized potato. Create an advertisement and a sales pitch to present to the class. This activity will help you understand the importance of marketing in online shopping.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi, welcome to Mental Floss! I’m Erin McCarthy, and did you know a woman once sold her allegedly haunted cane online for $65,000? That’s one of many interesting facts about online shopping we’ll be discussing today in this episode presented by Discover. Let’s get started!
We’re kicking this episode off with a list of some unusual things that people have bought on the Internet. In 2006, a 27-year-old Canadian man wanted to see what he could get for a paper clip, so he started trading with strangers online and made some great deals. He began with a single red paperclip and eventually received offers for a farmhouse and even an entire town in exchange for his previous trades. Some of the other traded items included a camp stove, a generator, a snow globe, a snowmobile, and a moving fan. It took a total of 14 trades to end up with the house.
In 2008, a man in Australia auctioned off everything in his life for $305,000, including his car, house, and all of his belongings. The idea for this dramatic auction was prompted by a bad divorce, but the story has a happy ending. He went on to check about a hundred items off his bucket list, visiting 31 countries and meeting a new wife along the way.
The early 2000s were a fascinating time for unusual internet purchases. In 2004, an online casino bought a woman’s haunted cane for $65,000. The cane had previously belonged to her father, and her son believed that having it around meant his grandfather’s ghost would haunt their house. There were 132 bids before it went to the casino, which purchased many other strange items in internet auctions, including foods that resembled religious figures, a celebrity’s kidney stone, and name changes for a woman and a monkey.
The original Hollywood sign was auctioned off for $450,400. The sign overlooked Los Angeles from 1923 to 1978 and was sold to a new owner in 2005. Thanks to the magic of the Internet, the letters were 50 feet tall and 30 feet wide.
Maybe you’re feeling left out, wishing you could buy some weird item online too. Well, for just $9.99 plus $5 shipping, you can get whatever you want written on a potato in black ink. You can even get pictures drawn on it! That’s way cheaper and easier to store than a bunch of huge old letters.
Online shopping isn’t just about convenience; it’s also about getting the best deals. When you save money, you feel smart! Every day on Mental Floss.com, we round up that day’s best online shopping bargains. Some days are bigger than others. During the 2018 holiday season, Americans spent almost $124 billion shopping online, with $6.2 billion on Black Friday and $7.9 billion on Cyber Monday.
In general, electronics and tech gadgets are typically great deals during the holiday season, but that’s just the beginning of online holiday bargains. If you’re shopping with your Discover card, they will match all the cash back new card members earn at the end of the first year automatically. To inspire your holiday shopping, here are a few unexpected deals you can score during the holidays, presented by Discover.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great days to shop for pets because pet stores offer deals on toys, treats, and apparel. You can also find big discounts on both print and electronic books during the holiday season. Enrich your brain over the holidays by signing up for some online classes, which are super discounted on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. You can get an education for as little as $10 a course!
While you’re shopping this holiday season, why not treat yourself or your loved ones to a trip? You can find excellent holiday deals on everything from airfare to hotels. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are also great days to stock up on high-end beauty brands, which cut their prices significantly both in stores and online.
If you’re interested in online purchases, it’s important to have good financial backing, ideally through a credit card that works for you. With Discover, they automatically match the cash back you earned dollar for dollar at the end of your first year. Visit discover.com/back/match to learn more.
Let’s rewind the clock a bit and go through some firsts in internet shopping history. Some people claim the first time a physical object was purchased over the Internet happened during the early 1970s. It was an online interaction between university students, but the item being exchanged was an illicit drug, so this definitely wasn’t a legal online purchase, and no actual money was involved.
By the 1980s, online auctions started to emerge. Before there were websites devoted to online auctions, people were using sites with forums or chat rooms to auction off their belongings. In 1984, an electronic mall opened, but it never became popular. It didn’t help that dial-up was expensive, and just 8% of American households even had a computer. The mall sold items from various companies, including bookstores and department stores.
A decade later, in 1994, the first secure online shopping experience happened when a CD was sold for $12.48 plus shipping. It went to a person in Philadelphia from the website’s headquarters in Nashua, New Hampshire. This was made possible thanks to a web browser released that year that could encrypt information on both sides of the transaction. In 1998, electronic stamps became a thing in the United States, allowing people to buy stamps over the Internet, print them out, and place them on their outgoing mail. One early idea for what to call this process was “Mouse Mail.”
Two years later, in 2000, the United States Census Bureau started tracking e-commerce sales, reporting data from the fourth quarter of 1999 that put sales at $5.3 billion. Finally, apps entered the internet shopping game in 2008. Before we had convenient shopping apps, people had to use regular internet browsing on their phones or computers.
We’re going to finish today’s episode with the story of one of the first online purchases—one of the less illegal ones. All the way back in 1984, a 72-year-old woman with a broken hip bought groceries online, five years before the World Wide Web was even invented. A man in the UK had implemented this system in her home, hoping it would take off and help others with mobility problems. The system connected her television set to the Internet. In his words, he effectively took a domestic TV and turned it into a computer terminal.
He switched out the TV remote with one that looked almost identical, except for one small difference: a button labeled “phone.” When the phone button was pressed, three options were given. She could choose to order from her supermarket, pharmacy, or bakery. After selecting the supermarket, she was able to scroll through a thousand products. On the day she had her first online grocery shopping experience, she ordered margarine, cereal, and eggs. Her phone line was used to give the order to the grocery store, and then employees at the store gathered the food and delivered it. When they did, she paid in cash, which to some people means this doesn’t count as online shopping because the money wasn’t exchanged over the Internet. The inventor called it “teleshopping.” It was simple because it was all done with telephone numbers and technology that she was already familiar with. It only took her 15 minutes to learn how to do everything.
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Let me know if you need any further modifications!
Online – Connected to or available through the internet. – Many people prefer to do their research online before making a decision about which historical site to visit.
Shopping – The activity of buying goods or services. – During the Great Depression, shopping habits changed significantly as people had less money to spend.
Deals – Agreements or arrangements, often involving a price reduction. – The government made deals with other countries to improve trade relations and boost the economy.
Purchases – Items that have been bought. – The museum’s recent purchases of ancient artifacts have attracted many visitors interested in history.
Discounts – Reductions in the usual price of something. – Many stores offer discounts on historical books to encourage students to learn more about the past.
Technology – The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry. – The invention of new technology has greatly impacted how we study and understand history.
Travel – The act of moving from one place to another, often over long distances. – Travel during the Age of Exploration led to the discovery of new lands and cultures.
History – The study of past events, particularly in human affairs. – Learning about history helps us understand how societies have evolved over time.
Items – Individual articles or units, especially ones that are part of a list or collection. – The museum displayed items from ancient civilizations to teach students about early human history.
Money – A medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes; currency. – Understanding how money works is essential for learning about economic systems in social studies.
