SortStack #1186 — 2029-09-07

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. A new big-budget video game at launch $70

   Adjusted for inflation, games are cheaper than ever: a Nintendo cartridge in the early Nineties often cost the equivalent of well over a hundred of today's dollars.

3. A round-trip economy flight from New York to London $700

   In 1939, a one-way transatlantic ticket on Pan Am's flying boat cost $375 — several months of an average American salary at the time.

4. 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.

5. Thirty seconds of advertising time during the Super Bowl $8M

   In 1967, a Super Bowl ad cost about $42,000. Brands now spend millions more on celebrity talent and production than on the airtime itself.

6. 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.

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