Buy air for US$9.99? Yes. Air.
Cans of air are being hawked online and yes, there are takers
Pay US$9.99 (S$13.90) for a can of air that is purportedly collected from countries such as Singapore, France and the US?
Yes. Air.
These nicely decorated cans, not unlike those used for canned foods, can be found on e-commerce website Etsy, where they are sold by Czech-based photographer Kirill Rudenko.
Indeed, these novelty gifts have buyers. User Isacha480, who bought Original Canned Air From Venice recently, posted a review which said: "I spend every summer in Venice and was lucky to have three dear friends travel there with me once. What a great and cute way to remember the trip!"
FROM DIFFERENT AREAS
And it is not just generic air being contained in these cans, but a special make up of air from different parts of the country, or so Mr Rudenko claims.
The Original Canned Air From Singapore is said to contain 25 per cent air from the Botanic Gardens, 20 per cent air from the Central Business District, 15 per cent air from The Singapore Flyer and 10 per cent air each from Chinatown, Little India, the Merlion and the Marina Bay Sands SkyPark.
They are not the only ones hawking the stuff. Earlier this month, a seller tried to auction a Ziploc bag that supposedly contained air from one of Kanye West's Yeezus Tours on eBay.
Within days of being uploaded, it garnered 90 bidders that drove the price to more than US$60,000. The auction has since been removed from eBay.
Not that it has stopped more fans from selling Ziploc bags that supposedly contain air collected from other Kanye West concerts on the same site.
One even proclaims to have a bag containing "flatulence (gas) from Kanye".
For US$5, it sounds like a steal. But no one has taken up the offer yet.
Prices of air from...
Kanye West Concert in Seattle
Current bid: US$2 (S$2.80)
Source: eBay
Kanye West concert in Paris
Starting bid: US$3,000
Source: eBay
Original Canned Air From Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
US$9.99
Source: Etsy/cooperativ
Original Canned Air
From singapore
US$9.99
Source: Etsy/cooperativ
If you can't beat them, join in. Get your Ziploc bag of air from the TNP newsroom!
Infused with the craziness of people trying to meet deadlines, a tang of the excitement of chasing a newsbreak and a whiff of columnist S M Ong's aura as he types his acerbic humour columns, it's available on eBay and Carousell now!
Any takers?
Selling air seems lucrative
Comment by HEATHER HUMPHRIES
I think I should become a purveyor of fine air.
It seems to be a lucrative business. I could retire at 19 and tour the world, sniffing out all the different countries.
In all seriousness, it does sound like a rather zany idea: To can or bag air and sell it online?
It is apparently worth more if it is from the atmosphere of a concert of a pop star.
While these cans and bags of contained air are being taken with a pinch of salt, the same may not be said of One Direction fans' obsession with their idols.
I should say at this point that I am not a Directioner. My navigation skills are pathetic.
I have nothing against these boys - I am just "directionless".
Which was why the idea of bagging carbon dioxide that they may have potentially exhaled flew over my head a little.
And it is not because of my 1.5m height.
The first-ever One Direction concert in Singapore on Wednesday was a big hit, it set a new Twitter record for a Singapore-based event at over 100,000 tweets.
Fans were at the Singapore Sports Hub as early as 4am.
The kicker was that some fans decided to bring Ziploc bags in the hope that they could catch some of 1D heart-throb Harry Styles' breath.
But I was then told that was not the most insane way 1D fans have tried to get a piece of the boyband.
In October last year, a fan spotted Styles throwing up on a sidewalk.
Following that, a shrine was erected at the spot with the sign: "Harry Styles Threw Up Here".
And to top it off, Styles' upchuck was then put on sale on eBay.
I have to applaud that fan for his/her dedication, but I may pass on shaking the person's hand.
Even though I'm 18, I may sound like a cranky old fart who shakes her fist at our youth today.
But I can understand the desire to have something that connects me with my favourite bands and singers.
Collecting something that may have passed through their hands (or stomachs) may make you feel like you are one step closer to actually knowing them.
But let's just stick to torn T-shirts, used bottles and tossed hats, shall we?
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