SortStack #521 — 2027-11-12

By price · Order from cheapest to most expensive.

1. A plain slice of pizza in New York City $3.00

   The 'Pizza Principle' holds that a NYC slice and a subway ride have cost roughly the same for decades — when one rises, the other tends to follow.

2. A new hardcover bestseller $30

   Hardcovers exist partly as price discrimination: publishers sell to eager fans at a premium first, then release the cheaper paperback a year later.

3. The average new car in the United States $48K

   The average new-car price has nearly doubled since 2010, driven by buyers abandoning sedans for loaded SUVs and trucks.

4. A McLaren F1 supercar at its original Nineties sticker price $815K

   The engine bay was lined with real gold foil for heat reflection. The same cars now trade for over $20 million — among history's best car investments.

5. The Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, the most expensive car ever sold $142M

   Mercedes had kept both existing cars for nearly 70 years before secretly auctioning one in 2022 — the buyer's identity and the car's location remain closely guarded.

6. Mojang, the maker of Minecraft, when Microsoft bought it $2.5B

   Creator Markus 'Notch' Persson sold partly due to burnout, tweeting that he didn't want the responsibility — Minecraft went on to become the best-selling game ever.

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