Chewed gum, underwear, breath: Weird celebrities' items sold at auctions
The world is obsessed with celebrities. Their possessions, when auctioned, always fetch millions. However some of these items are really bizarre ones, like say soiled underwear or chewed gum, which will make you wonder, "who buys these stuff." But, surprisingly, there is a demand for them as well. So, let's do a rundown of some of the weirdest celebrity items sold at auction.
Let's start with the nastiest one: Soiled underwear. On two occasions, innerwear worn by Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson were auctioned. Both were considered one of the most significant cultural icons of 20th century, and so when their underwear (complete with stains) were auctioned, it fetched huge. While Elvis' pair of (framed) underwear got $8,000 (2012), Jackson's were sold for a whopping $1mn (2008)!
Fascination with celebrities went up a notch higher in 2010, when a jar apparently containing air exhaled by Hollywood's then 'It' couple Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie was auctioned for $523. While putting it for sale, celebrity spotter Joe Wilson wrote, "Be the first to own this jar of Celebrity air, which may contain molecules that came in direct contact with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt."
Co-founder of the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in music history, John Lennon had gifted his tooth to his housekeeper in the 1960s, for whatever reason! Now that woman's family put it up for auction in 2011, and the molar fetched $31,000, double its expected selling price. Dr. Michael Zuk, an Alberta-based dentist, bought it since he wanted "to own John Lennon's DNA."
Edge of Glory hitmaker, Lady Gaga once wore black acrylic nails featuring detailed gold embellishments, designed by NY nail artist Aya Fukuda, for one of her concerts in Dublin. While gyrating to a tune, one of the nails fell, which was recovered and eventually put up for sale in 2013. An enthusiastic fan of the 33-year-old bought the unique item for a hefty $12,000.
Pop icon Britney Spears was a craze in the 2000s. So when she spat out a chewing gum, and it was auctioned in 2004, it actually got sold for $14,000! Even her pregnancy-test kit, which gave a positive result, was sold for $5,000 a year later. The kit was found in a bin of a room Britney stayed in with then husband, Kevin Federline.
Albert Einstein had written a note to German philosopher Eric Gutkind in 1954 taking issue with the belief in God. In it he wrote, "The word God is for me nothing but the expression and product of human weaknesses. The Bible a collection of venerable but still rather primitive legends." That letter got sold last year for nearly $2.9mn, almost double the predicted price.
The oak chair on which world-famous author JK Rowling sat while penning the first two Harry Potter books was auctioned by a Salford resident in 2016 for $400,000. Rowling had hand-painted the chair, and it had phrases like "O, you may not find me pretty but don't judge on what you see" and "I wrote Harry Potter while sitting on this chair," on it.
An engagement ring that US President Donald Trump had gifted to his second wife, actress-TV personality Marla Maples, got sold for $300,000 at a New York City auction. The 7.45-carat emerald-cut ring, designed by Harry Winston, was about the size of a postage stamp. Trump and Maples were married in 1993, and got divorced six years later.
