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Children love to change things and all sorts of interesting phantoms. After all, what is nonsense for someone may be of serious interest to another. The exchange allows you to easily collect a collection of different curiosities. And this is truly an exciting activity! In the adult world, such a system does not work – commodity-money relations have been dictating the rules for a long time. You give me money, I give you goods.
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However, sometimes adults remember that they were children too and try to barter something interesting for themselves. The story of the Canadian blogger Kyle MacDonald became famous, who through a series of exchanges managed to turn his ordinary paper clip into a two-story house. The enthusiast himself told about this on the website he created with the eloquent name oneredpaperclip.com.
Getting your own home quickly does not work, especially in youth. Like many, Kyle MacDonald rented an apartment and dreamed that sooner or later he would have his own house. However, the financial outlook looked dim. Then Kyle decided to take part in the children’s game “Bigger, Better”, whose name is translated simply – “Bigger, Better.” The point of fun is to exchange your things for others, trying to find something bigger or more valuable.
Glancing around his dwelling, Kyle realized that, in fact, he had nothing of value or interest to exchange. The only thing that attracted attention was an ordinary red paper clip, which he would have parted with without regret. On the popular electronic classifieds service Craigslist in July 2005, a Canadian advertised his willingness to swap the item for any other item. Kyle decided to participate in the exchanges until one day he got the house at his disposal. And then an amazing and unexpectedly relatively short series of operations began.
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How to change a paper clip to a home?
On the same day, July 14, MacDonald received the first exchange offer – a certain Vancouver resident was ready to give her ballpoint pen in an unusual shape of a fish for a red paper clip. True, for the sake of exchange I had to make a trip.
On the same day, MacDonald managed to turn a new deal – the owner of a homemade doorknob needed a ballpoint pen. She, too, turned out to be unusual, had the shape of a face. Kyle named his new property “Handle-T”. But for her he had to go to Seattle, Washington.
A few days passed, and on July 25, Kyle went to Massachusetts, where he changed the doorknob for a Coleman camping gas stove, and besides, with a full supply of fuel.
And two months later, on September 24, at a barbecue in California, an enthusiast was able to persuade the owner of the house to give him a Honda kilowatt electric generator in exchange for a gas stove.
The new deal took place on November 16 in New York. MacDonald traded the generator for an empty beer keg, but with the obligation to fill this container with any beer at the owner’s request. True, the deal almost fell through – local firefighters seized an unsafe generator. In addition, Kyle also received a Budweiser neon sign.
And on December 8, 2005, the Canadian changed this property for a Ski-doo snowmobile, a comedian and radio host from Quebec Michelle Barrett went to such a deal.
Only a week passed, and a new exchange took place – the snowmobile found a new owner, who gave a ticket for two to the Rocky Mountains, to the city of Yakh.
Only 7 days of the new 2006 have passed, and Kyle made a new exchange – instead of a voucher, he received a van.
On February 22, the car went to the new owner, and the Canadian became the owner of a contract with the Metalworks recording studio in Mississauga, Canada.
On April 11, MacDonald made a new deal – the contract went to the aspiring singer Jody Grant, and she gave the right to live in her house in Phoenix, Arizona, for a year.
Apparently, Kyle did not plan to spend time there, which is why, after a couple of weeks, he exchanged this lot for the right to spend the evening in the company of the famous rocker Alice Cooper.
A month later, a new exchange took place – instead of an invitation, the Canadian received a souvenir snow globe with the inscription KISS.
Surprisingly, MacDonald managed to find a collector of such balls – he was the Hollywood director Corbin Bernsen.
On June 2, 2006, he happily gave for this lot the opportunity to star in his film “Donna on Demand”. Finally, on July 5, 2006, the last exchange took place. The town hall of the small Canadian town of Kipling gave away a two-story house for her role in the film.
The exchange was initiated by the municipality itself. A casting was held in the town, as a result, the role in the film went to the most talented resident. So Kyle MacDonald eventually became the owner of his own house, which, in fact, exchanged for a paper clip.
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History of success
The exchange operation started on July 14, 2005 and ended on July 12, 2006. The house in Kipling, at 503 Main Street, was in excellent condition and measured about 100 square meters. In just a year, MacDonald made 14 successful deals. And although most of them were made in other cities, the expenses of the Canadian himself turned out to be zero – he traveled around Canada and the States for work, being a sales agent. All that remained was to take things with you for exchange.
Kyle MacDonald himself turned out to be a very colorful character. He graduated from the university, becoming a bachelor in geography, which is probably why he fell in love with travel and adventure. For a time, the Canadian lived in Australia, where he worked as a pizza delivery man, a shepherd and an advertising model. And in Ecuador, Kyle worked as a postman.
During the year of trading, the Canadian met a lot of interesting people, made new friends and gained a wealth of experience. He was able to “monetize” his story, at least to glory, by telling it in detail and with photographs on his website, and by writing a book about his adventures. MacDonald made the town of Kipling famous, and he thanked it in his own way. On the day, the blogger was made mayor, and then even an honorary resident, they gave him the keys to the city. Kyle MacDonald with his history got into the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful Internet trade. In honor of this story, a five-meter-long red paper clip, the largest in the world, was created, which also found a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
The participants in the transaction also received a certain glory. For example, the first participant in the exchange chain, Corine Hite, was offered for the very same clip, first a couple of MP3 players, then as much as $ 500, and later even a car. But the woman decided to return the valuable thing to Kyle. He himself is not at all conceited from constant interviews and visits to talk shows, but continues to lead a life full of adventures. And Kyle MacDonald returned his house to the city of Kipling, which became there, along with a huge paper clip, a local landmark.
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