SortStack #773 — 2028-07-21

By price · Order from cheapest to most expensive.

1. A single supermarket tea bag $0.05

   Tea bags were popularized by accident: a New York merchant shipped samples in silk pouches, and customers dunked the whole pouch.

2. A Big Mac in the United States, on average $5.80

   The Economist's 'Big Mac Index' uses this burger's price worldwide as a playful gauge of whether currencies are over- or undervalued.

3. A large hand-tossed pizza from Domino's $14

   Domino's once guaranteed delivery in 30 minutes or the pizza was free — the promise was scrapped after lawsuits over drivers speeding.

4. A new hot-air balloon with basket and burner $40K

   The envelope fabric slowly degrades with UV exposure — most balloons retire after a few hundred flight hours, making cost per flight surprisingly high.

5. The Louisiana Purchase, as the US paid France $15M

   The 1803 nominal price bought about 2.1 million square kilometers — roughly three cents per acre — and doubled the size of the United States overnight.

6. Paul Newman's own Rolex Daytona, sold at auction $17.8M

   The watch was a gift from his wife, engraved 'Drive Carefully Me.' Its 2017 sale made it the most expensive wristwatch ever auctioned at the time.

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