SortStack #1697 — 2031-01-31

By price · Order from cheapest to most expensive.

1. A pack of instant ramen noodles $0.40

   In a Japanese poll, instant ramen was voted the country's greatest invention of the twentieth century — beating karaoke and the Walkman.

2. An Xbox Series S console $349

   Microsoft has long sold consoles near or below manufacturing cost, betting on game sales and subscriptions to make the profit.

3. New Kim, the world's most expensive racing pigeon $1.9M

   A Chinese buyer won the 2020 auction for the Belgian hen. Pigeon racing's huge prize purses in China have turned top breeding birds into seven-figure assets.

4. SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the most expensive stadium ever built $5.5B

   Because it sits under the LAX flight path, the roof had to stay low — so builders dug the field about 30 meters below ground level.

5. The James Webb Space Telescope $10B

   Webb's mirror is coated with about 48 grams of gold — roughly a golf ball's worth — spread across 18 hexagonal segments.

6. Activision Blizzard, when Microsoft bought it $68.7B

   The biggest gaming acquisition ever took nearly two years to close as regulators on three continents scrutinized it — the UK initially blocked it outright.

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