CONTORTED PASTA

Wow. Just wow. Not only is it a freaking wall of rock (and I wonder how one would claim it if it actually sells, which I assume it will) but he wants A HUNDRED GRAND for it.

I'm never the first to say "fake," but I really can't help myself this time. It looks like someone carved it. And even if it isn't fake, anyone could reproduce it if they tried. I'd ask "why would anyone buy it then," but there are always people who will blow a ton of money on stupid things like this.

If he really thinks he's "supposed to share it" why does he want so much for it? Why not just make it a mini-pilgrimage spot and set up a gift shop in the garage? That would still be completely ridiculous but at least it's a BIT more reasonable. -_____-'

From:

niteflite.livejournal.com

I agree that it looks like it's been chiseled out of the rock, but even if it's a genuine product of erosion, I think what he's ACTUALLY selling is a bit ridiculous.

"What is being auctioned?

The Hand of God Rock Wall

Located in Coeur D Alene, Idaho 83814

1. The complete and exclusive rights to take pictures, images or scans.
2. The exclusive rights to accounts and descriptions of the events surrounding the “Hand of God” in my backyard including all literary and/or movie rights.
3. The exclusive rights to make a casting of the hand; it is approx 9ft tall x 4ft wide
4. The exclusive rights to dismantle the wall and take the Hand for reassembly anywhere in the world or space “with conditions”
5. The exclusive rights to other things I have forgotten to mention; just ask I’m easy
6. All city, county, state or federal permits and/or fees are the complete responsibility of the buyer"

So, he's selling the rights to... come over there and do anything to the wall. Um.. I believe that the neighbor kids already probably do that for free. There's even 1 bid (http://cgi.ebay.com/Hand-of-God-Rock-Wall_W0QQitemZ150340217379QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item150340217379&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50) on it. WTF, mate?

From:

...so basically he's letting someone else buy the permission to set up a mini-shrine and a gift shop in his backyard? o____o Well, now I've seen everything.

I think he's getting a little ahead of himself by throwing in the words "literary and/or movie rights." And by "a little" I mean "someone wants his 15 seconds of fame and he wants it NOW."

At least the current bid is only $100. (I can't believe I said "at least." D: )

From:

Well, Idaho is full of columnar basalt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basalt#Columnar_basalt) – it looks to me as if the escarpment in his backyard just sloughed off a more weathered outer layer and exposed some cleaner columns with a contour that could be interpreted as a hand, especially with the 'fingers' that the columns suggest.

From:

niteflite.livejournal.com

Huh. Well, it supposedly doesn't crumble, so I guess it could be feasible for the auction winner to come collect their prize somewhat intact. Of course, per the agreement, they'd have to pony up the cash to get it off his property and cart it back to who-knows-where, but that's their problem.

Just imagine if it were sandstone instead! Crumble city.

From:

That's true. Assuming that at least some of the outer rock fell off by itself, there's no guarantee that it wasn't "helped" into looking like a giant hand. He would have had to do it himself since anyone he could have hired to carve it would have cleaned up the rubble better, AND they could call him on it later. (Unless he paid them off, or they're getting part of the profit.)

I know that sounds a little extreme, but these types of people always seem very suspicious to me. And after all, I'M not the one trying to sell part of my backyard for a hundred grand. :I

From:

Far be it from me to doubt someone being a duplicitous bastard, I'm just pointing out that it is feasible as a natural occurrence. If he had helped it along a little, I can't help thinking it might look a bit more like a hand than it does ... but then, being surrounded by really talented people every day probably skews my assumptions at the average artistic skill of the population. :)

From:

That's also true. XD Either he's not much of a sculptor or he purposely made it look imperfect so that people wouldn't suspect him. Or he can't sculpt and knew that if he got someone good to do it, he would be suspected.

And like you overestimate the average artistic skills of the population, I'm probably overestimating the guy's creativity and ability to plan ahead. XD I still think the Hand of God Garage Gift Shop would have been the best plan, and he didn't do that, so he's probably just your average over-religious guy who wants to make a buck. :/

From:

You know, if he was smarter, he'd do that. He'd probably make more money over time with a gift shop, people coming to buy little plastic Hands of God at ten bucks a pop, maybe even open a little Hand of God Cafe. Charge three bucks for a "Hand of God Tour," extra dollar for a votive candle to put on the Hand of God Shrine...gosh, the possibilities are endless, I'm a little disappointed by his lack of imagination, really.

"Who would go to see something like that?" many might wonder. Why, I answer, the same people who go to see stuff like "The World's Biggest Ball of String," that's who.

From:

But think how much work that would be! D:

(also his neighbourhood is probably not zoned for businesses)

From:

Yes, but think how many more people he could share it with! :O

From:

noodledaddy.livejournal.com

I think that he no more sums up pretty much everything about our character as a species as do Mother Theresa, Fr. Damian, or any other number of people from the other side of the spectrum.

From:

If Mother Theresa and Fr Damian were true representatives of humanity as a whole, human history and the world we live in would be VASTLY different from what we know and love today. They are no more indicative of average human nature than Mugabe or Pinochet, who are more accurately on the other end of the spectrum. This man is relatively harmless and probably not truly evil, but has a tendency to see signs and wonders where there is only chance and science, and would like to turn a profit. The former leads to mythology, rituals, and fanaticism; the latter is why communism does not work.

Similarly the writers at MSNBC blithely skip from pondering the mysteries of the cosmos to inane internet polls in their article about the other Hand of God (http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/04/15/1894075.aspx). It's just human.

From:

noodledaddy.livejournal.com

Not much to argue with there.

From:

..That other Hand of God is awesome. Literally. *gloms onto ever-so-shiny nebula pic*

From:

Yeah, it might even be worth a hundred grand...*how long until NASA tries to sell it?*

From:

C'mon, a hundred grand would buy one wheel of a Mars rover; Nasa would have to ... auction off ... the whole sky ...

I think you may have hit on something here. It's not like they'd actually have to deliver on anything! Just sell things more than 5 million light-years away and say 'if you build yourself a Time And Relative Dimension In Space vehicle that can get there, it's all yours!'

From:

Well, it's a possible fall-back position if the government cuts their budget! ;D

From:

fani.livejournal.com

Think about it this way: cheap amusement :)

From:

Heeeee!

From:

wizardelfgirl.livejournal.com

I don't know what amuses/creeps me the most, the fact that he's selling a piece of rock, the fact that someone is bidding for it, or the fact that this actually attracted media attention, however small.

From:

For me, nothing will surpass the Dumbledore toast. We humans are funny old things.

From:

Have you heard of the Dorito shaped like the Pope's hat?

From:

..whut.

Okay, you win. *falls over laughing*

From:

It gets better.

You Bought What?! (http://www.webupon.com/Services/You-Bought-What-10-Extraordinarily-Peculiar-eBay-Purchases.70080)

From:

..Ghost in a jar!? Bwahahahaha!

Thanks for the link; that's hilarious!

From:

Wow, that's fantastic! I'm having a hard time believing that's not deliberate, though, I mean ... that's a really weird pattern for toast to take. And it's the movie Dumbledore.

From: