$1.9 Million For a Topless Bea Arthur Painting? 6 Stories of Ridiculous Spending

Nishant Choksi for Reader's Digest$37.50  The price a New Jersey restaurant-goer thought he was paying for a bottle of wine. The waitress said it cost “thirty-seven fifty,” but she had a different thirty-seven fifty in mind, as in the real price—$3,750. In the end, the restaurant lowered the bill to $2,200.    Source: nj.com

$500  The starting bid for a pile of bird poop on eBay. An Illinois man found droppings on his car’s windshield that bore a resemblance to the late Michael Jackson. So he auctioned them off. “One of two things will happen,” he told UPI. “It will go for an astronomical amount, or I’ll get nothing.” He got nothing.    Source: upi.com

$1,900,000  The price that a portrait sold for at a New York City auction house. The portrait was of the late actress Bea Arthur … topless.    Source: nypost.com

$1,000,000,000  The sum five inmates at the Idaho State Correctional Institution were seeking from Anheuser-Busch and other alcohol companies. Their complaint: The businesses should have warned them that booze was addictive and that it could lead to a life of crime. The case was dropped.    Source: blog.oregonlive.com

$680,000  The value of a three-story home overlooking the Atlantic Ocean that a Missouri couple had built in Flagler County, Florida. The five-bedroom dream house includes 5.5 bathrooms, a home theater, a game room, and a screened-in pool. It was also accidentally built on a vacant lot owned by someone else.    Source: news-journalonline.com

$160,000  The worth of the diamond that a UPS worker allegedly stole while unloading an airplane.

$20  The worth of the marijuana that the above idiot traded the $160,000 diamond for.    Source: abc15.com

If you’re into paintings, you’ll be happy to hear that Bob Ross made three copies of each of his paintings.