The lives of two men, a top tennis player’s ponytail and a piece of cereal that looks like E.T. are among the strangest items Australians have bought and sold in the past decade, auction Web site eBay said on Friday.
Fatso, a rather large wombat who became the unofficial mascot of the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and the patch of turf from which the goal that made Australia win the 2005 soccer World Cup qualifier against Uruguay were also among the items auctioned off through the Web site, which this week celebrates 10 years in Australia.
“If the past 10 years have taught us anything, it’s that nothing is too big, too small or too bizarre for eBay.com.au’s legions of loyal fans,” eBay’s Sian Gipslis said in a statement. “With an amazing 173 million items sold over the past 10 years, it’s no surprise that things like famed Australian tennis player Pat Rafter’s ponytail and a Perth gentleman’s entire life have turned up for sale.”
The most expensive item auctioned on eBay so far was the last Holden Monaro car made, which went for A$187,600 (US$169,500) with all proceeds going to the Leukaemia Foundation. The first item was an amplifier sold for A$76, the statement said.
The site said it was a popular way for Australians to make money, with 87 sellers each generating more than A$1 million in sales last year.
It also nearly became an avenue for revenge for one woman who put up for sale a pair of underpants she said belonged to her husband’s mistress, but the sale was taken down by eBay.
Former world No. 1 tennis player Pat Rafter’s signature ponytail sold for A$2,025 in 2001, with the money going to a children’s charity. Fatso was sold for A$84,000 a year earlier, also for charity.
A Perth man who decided to sell his entire life after splitting with is partner made A$399,300, while a Wollongong man who sold off his job, his repertoire of six jokes, his friends and potential lovers got A$7,500.
And that piece of cereal with more than a passing resemblance to famous Hollywood alien E.T.? The statement said it was sold for A$1,035 in December 2004.
EBay Australia is a division of eBay Inc.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese