SortStack #801 — 2028-08-18

By price · Order from cheapest to most expensive.

1. A single sheet of printer paper $0.01

   A standard 500-sheet ream costs about five dollars — and the average office worker prints roughly 10,000 sheets a year.

2. Manhattan Island, as the Dutch paid for it (in goods, at the famous valuation) $24

   The Dutch paid 60 guilders in trade goods in 1626 — a sum 19th-century historians famously converted to about $24. Manhattan real estate is now worth well over a trillion.

3. A Peloton Bike+ exercise bike $2.5K

   During the pandemic Peloton was briefly worth more than Ford. Its stock later fell more than 90% from the peak as gyms reopened.

4. A Tesla Powerwall home battery, installed $9.3K

   A Powerwall stores about enough electricity to run a typical US home for half a day to a day — many owners buy them less for savings than for blackout insurance.

5. A Boeing 737 MAX 8 airliner at list price $120M

   Airlines almost never pay list price — discounts of around half are standard, which is why Boeing eventually stopped publishing its price sheet entirely.

6. Twitter, when Elon Musk bought it $44B

   Musk tried to back out and was sued into completing the 2022 deal — he walked into headquarters carrying a sink, posting 'let that sink in.'

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