SortStack #1214 — 2029-10-05

By price · Order from cheapest to most expensive.

1. 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.

2. An Instant Pot pressure cooker $90

   The Instant Pot was invented by a laid-off Canadian telecom engineer — it became so beloved that owners formed recipe communities millions strong.

3. 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.

4. Stan, one of the most complete T. rex skeletons ever found $31.8M

   After the record 2020 sale, Stan's whereabouts were a mystery for years — he eventually surfaced as the future star of a new natural history museum in Abu Dhabi.

5. The Mona Lisa's insurance valuation for its world tour in the Sixties $100M

   It was the highest insurance valuation in history at the time — but the Louvre skipped the premium and spent the money on security instead.

6. Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise, when Disney bought them $4.1B

   George Lucas took much of the 2012 payment in Disney stock and has donated billions toward education — Disney recouped the price within a few films.

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