SortStack #213 — 2027-01-08

By price · Order from cheapest to most expensive.

1. One month of Netflix's standard ad-free plan $18

   Netflix began in 1998 mailing DVDs in red envelopes — it shipped its final disc in 2023 after posting over five billion of them.

2. A new Rolex Submariner at retail $10.8K

   For years the waiting lists were so long that used Submariners sold above new ones — an inversion almost unheard of in luxury goods.

3. An average American wedding $33K

   The single biggest line item is usually the venue. Meanwhile the median engagement ring, despite the marketing, costs a fraction of the 'three months salary' rule.

4. A Rolls-Royce Phantom, before options $517K

   Each Phantom's 'Starlight Headliner' is hand-threaded with hundreds of fiber-optic stars — buyers can order the exact night sky from a date of their choosing.

5. Dennis Tito's trip to the International Space Station as the first space tourist $20M

   NASA objected so strongly to the 2001 visit that Tito trained in Russia and flew on a Soyuz — NASA staff were initially told not to assist him.

6. The Oppenheimer Blue, the largest fancy vivid blue diamond ever auctioned $57.5M

   Blue diamonds owe their color to traces of boron and form deeper in the Earth than almost any other gem — only a handful surface each year.

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