SortStack #2635 — 2033-08-26

By price · Order from cheapest to most expensive.

1. A single Powerball lottery ticket $2.00

   The odds of hitting the jackpot are about 1 in 292 million — you are far likelier to be struck by lightning multiple times in your life.

2. 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.

3. A pair of white Nike Air Force 1 sneakers $110

   Released in 1982 as a basketball shoe, the Air Force 1 still sells millions of pairs a year — virtually unchanged in design for four decades.

4. A bespoke suit from Savile Row in London $5.5K

   A true bespoke suit takes around 50 hours of handwork and multiple fittings. The word 'bespoke' itself comes from Savile Row — cloth 'spoken for' by a customer.

5. One year at Harvard, including tuition, room, and board $82K

   Harvard's endowment is so large that the university could theoretically let every undergraduate attend free and barely notice — financial aid means many already pay little.

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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