SortStack #234 — 2027-01-29

By price · Order from cheapest to most expensive.

1. A full tank of gas for a midsize car in the US $45

   About half the pump price of US gasoline is the crude oil itself — refining, distribution, and taxes split the rest.

2. An Apple Vision Pro headset $3.5K

   Each Vision Pro contains more pixels in its two tiny displays than a 4K television — packed into screens roughly the size of postage stamps.

3. The median home in the United States $420K

   In 1970 the median US home cost about $23,000 — roughly twice the median household income. Today it's nearly six times.

4. One year of renting a giant panda from China $1M

   China owns nearly every panda on Earth and leases them to foreign zoos — cubs born abroad are also Chinese property and must eventually be flown 'home.'

5. A banana duct-taped to a wall, the artwork 'Comedian' $6.2M

   The 2024 buyer, a crypto entrepreneur, ate the banana at a press conference. The artwork is really a certificate — owners get instructions for replacing the fruit.

6. The International Space Station $150B

   Often called the most expensive object ever built, the ISS has been continuously inhabited since the year 2000 and orbits Earth about sixteen times a day.

← All puzzles · Play today’s SortStack