One red paperclip
The website One red paperclip was created by Kyle MacDonald, a Canadian blogger who bartered his way from a single paperclip to a house in a series of online trades spanning exactly one year.
History
Macdonald began by establishing that humans are stupid. MacDonald began with one red paper clip on July 12, 2005. By July 5, 2006, a chain of bartering had ultimately led to trading a movie role for a two-story farmhouse in Kipling, Saskatchewan. On July 12, 2006—one year after MacDonald began his experiment—the deed to the house was signed. In the following September, at the housewarming party where 12 of the 14 traders were present, he proposed to his girlfriend and she accepted. The engagement ring was made from the original red paperclip he got back from the first woman to have agreed to trade with him.[1]
MacDonald got the idea for one red paperclip from a childhood game called "Bigger and Better," and announced his quest on July 12, 2005 with a post on Craigslist.[1][2]
The website was followed by nearly a thousand people, according to bookmarking data provided by del.icio.us.[3] Several of the trades were covered by news channels like CNN, ABC News,[4] and the BBC,[5] among others.
The Hour on CBC Newsworld in particular followed the trading with some interest, especially when MacDonald remarked that he would not go to Yahk, British Columbia for a trade. The village protested and MacDonald said that The Hour would have to broadcast a show there before he would make a trade. In February 2006, the show took the challenge and had a special episode shot there which covered MacDonald's latest trade.[6]
Kyle's book One Red Paperclip was published in the UK by Ebury Press on 28 June 2007 and by Three Rivers Press in the USA on Aug 21, 2007.[7] MacDonald now holds the Guinness World Record for the Most Successful Internet Trade.[8]
Kyle is currently in the process of trying to trade the house. [9]
Trading timeline
Timeline, based on the website and as summarized by the BBC:[5]
- On July 14, 2005, he went to Vancouver and traded the paperclip for a fish-shaped pen.
- He then traded the pen the same day for a hand-sculpted doorknob from Seattle, Washington, which he nicknamed "Knob-T".
- On July 25 2005, he traveled to Amherst, Massachusetts, with a friend to trade the Knob-T for a Coleman camp stove (with fuel).
- On September 24 2005, he went to San Clemente, California, and traded the camp stove for a Honda generator.
- On November 16 2005, he made a second (and successful) attempt (after having the generator confiscated by the New York City Fire Department) in Maspeth, Queens, to trade the generator for an "instant party": an empty keg, an IOU for filling the keg with the beer of the holder's choice, and a neon Budweiser sign.
- On December 8 2005, he traded the "instant party" to Quebec comedian and radio personality Michel Barrette for a Ski-doo snowmobile.
- Within a week of that, he traded the snowmobile for a two-person trip to Yahk, British Columbia, in February 2006.
- On or about January 7, 2006, the second person on the trip to Yahk traded Kyle a cube van for the privilege.
- On or about February 22 2006, he traded the cube van for a recording contract with Metal Works in Toronto.
- On or about April 11 2006, he traded the recording contract to Jody Gnant for a year's rent in Phoenix, Arizona.
- On or about April 26 2006, he traded the one year's rent in Phoenix, Arizona, for one afternoon with Alice Cooper.
- On or about May 26 2006, he traded the one afternoon with Alice Cooper for a KISS motorized snow globe.
- On or about June 2 2006, he traded the KISS motorized snow globe to Corbin Bernsen for a role in the film Donna on Demand.[10]
- On or about July 5 2006, he traded the movie role for a two-story farmhouse in Kipling, Saskatchewan.
Background on MacDonald
MacDonald (born October 3, 1979) is a Canadian citizen from Belcarra, British Columbia. He has a bachelor's degree in Geography from the University of British Columbia.
MacDonald has travelled to over 30 countries, on every continent. Some of his travel adventures include delivering pizza by scooter in Sydney, Australia; sheep herding by dirt bike in Western Australia; modeling as an Italian soccer player in Bangkok, Thailand; firing a machine gun in Cambodia; squid jigging in Newfoundland and Labrador; delivering several hundred post cards at one time to the Galápagos Islands;[11] and moving to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, for three days just so he could get NWT polar-bear-shaped license plates for his car. His mom still cuts his hair.
Bibliography
- Macdonald, Kyle (28 June 2007). One Red Paperclip: How a Small Piece of Stationery Turned into a Great Big Adventure. Ebury Press. ISBN 9780091914523.
References
- ^ a b Red paper clip blogger throws party in new home CTV Toronto (Sept. 3, 2006)
- ^ Kyle MacDonald Trades One Red Paperclip for a House Quick Online Tips (July 7, 2006)
- ^ del.icio.us history for http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/
- ^ Man Trading Up From Paper Clip to House ABC News (April 17, 2006)
- ^ a b Man turns paper clip into house BBC News (July 11, 2006)
- ^ one trip to yahk one red paperclip blog (Dec. 11, 2005)
- ^ One Red Paperclip by Kyle MacDonald - Books - Random House
- ^ Guinness World Records 2008 edition, p. 161
- ^ [1]"one red paperclip blog" (Aug. 19, 2009)
- ^ ATS #41 - The New Marketing Podcast with guest Corbin Bernsen Across the Sound (July 1, 2006)
- ^ Message in a Barrel The Port Moody Station Museum Blog (Aug. 29, 2005)
