SortStack #1284 — 2029-12-14

By price · Order from cheapest to most expensive.

1. A single steel paperclip $0.02

   Norwegians wore paperclips on their lapels during WWII as a quiet symbol of resistance against the Nazi occupation.

2. A PlayStation 5 console $500

   The PS5 sold out so fast at launch during the pandemic that scalper bots became a news story — resale prices briefly doubled the sticker.

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. The annual permit for the hot dog cart spot outside the Met museum in New York $289K

   Prime NYC park vending spots are auctioned by the city — the pitch outside the Metropolitan Museum has commanded more per year than most American homes cost.

5. Alaska, as the United States paid Russia for it $7.2M

   The 1867 nominal price worked out to about two cents per acre. Critics called it 'Seward's Folly' — then gold and oil turned it into history's great bargain.

6. Building the Large Hadron Collider at CERN $4.8B

   The LHC's 27 km ring is colder than outer space — its magnets sit at 1.9 kelvin — and it briefly held a section of the emptiest vacuum in the solar system.

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