A Brief History of the Extraterrestrial Real Estate Market

Note: I originally wrote this article for about.com, which has since ceased to exist. I recently came across it while going through my files. So I decided to repost it here.

In 2013, Maria Angeles Duran began selling plots of land on eBay. That, in itself, wasn't unusual. However, the land she was selling was located on the sun. She offered square-meter plots for the price of 1 euro each. By 2015, she had over 600 buyers, but then eBay pulled the plug on her, saying her auctions violated its "intangible goods" policy.

Further complicating Duran's business plan was the fact that she was in no way a pioneer of solar real estate sales. Long before she came along, numerous other people had already staked a claim to the sun. In fact, for over 75 years there's been a booming market in real estate located throughout the entire universe, with the result that by now every corner of the cosmos has been claimed by multiple would-be owners.

Hot Property: Maria Angeles Duran wants to sell you land on the sun

The First Owner

If priority in this matter means anything (and it probably doesn't) then the entire universe, except for the Earth, is owned by Arthur Dean Lindsay and his descendants, since Lindsay appears to be the first guy who had the idea of laying claim to outer space. In 1937, he filed a deed at the Irwin County Courthouse in Ocilla, Georgia, declaring his ownership of "all of the property known as planets, islands-of-space or other matter." When he informed the press of this, he became widely known as the "man who owns the universe." However, these vast holdings didn't help his finances much. In 1937, it was reported that he was bankrupt.

Arthur Dean Lindsay — the man who owned the universe

Homesteading the Moon

In 1948, William Honhold and Robert Eaton of Sewickley, Pennsylvania got the idea of writing to the Bureau of Land Management to request "all rights and privileges to the moon" under the federal homestead act. Interior Secretary Krug actually took the time to respond, saying, "Sovereignty of the United States has never been established over the moon; consequently, land areas, if any, of that planet cannot at this time be regarded as subject to claims or applications under the federal public land laws." Honhold and Eaton planned an appeal to the United Nations.

Idaho Falls Post-Register - Apr 21, 1948

More in extended >>

Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 02, 2022 - Comments (6)
Category: Real Estate, Scams, Cons, Rip-offs, and General Larceny, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy

Faking Someone Else’s Death

Modern life is full of stories about 1) people who fake their own death; and 2) people who fake having an illness (usually cancer) in order to get money. But this episode seems unique in that the scammers faked the death of someone else to get money.

Source: North Mail Newcastle Daily Chronicle (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England) 28 Apr 1926, Wed Page 11

Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 22, 2022 - Comments ()
Category: Death, Scams, Cons, Rip-offs, and General Larceny, 1920s, United Kingdom

Unlikely Reasons for Murder No. 5

Suicide is self-murder, and offing oneself because your murderous insurance scam has come unraveled seems a bit more unlikely than accepting the punishment. Extra points given for swallowing poison in front of the cops. How did he have it so handy?



Source: The Daily Journal (Commerce, Texas) 09 Nov 1956, Fri Page 1

Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 19, 2021 - Comments (5)
Category: Death, Suicide, Scams, Cons, Rip-offs, and General Larceny, Stupid Criminals, 1950s

Nuclear Car Battery

Note: no actual nuclear power involved.



Source.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 03, 2020 - Comments (3)
Category: Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Scams, Cons, Rip-offs, and General Larceny, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1950s, Cars

Silicone Face Lifter

Get yours here!

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 30, 2019 - Comments (4)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Body Modifications, Scams, Cons, Rip-offs, and General Larceny

Jemima Wilkinson Is Lord

The source.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 28, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Delusions, Fantasies and Other Tricks of the Imagination, Eccentrics, Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Religion, Rituals and Superstitions, Scams, Cons, Rip-offs, and General Larceny, Eighteenth Century

Coco-Bay and Chiego-Foot

Original ad here.

Holloway's Pills and Ointment were apparently miraculous as seen by the number of ailments they could cure. But I was curious about two of the more obscure ills, and managed to track them down.




Definition here.

Yes, the treatment could cure leprosy! The second disorder is much less severe.



Definition here.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Apr 27, 2016 - Comments (8)
Category: Scams, Cons, Rip-offs, and General Larceny, Nineteenth Century, Diseases

Dracula Memento

What are the odds for this "soil" being authentic?

Original ad here. (Back cover.)

Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 15, 2016 - Comments (11)
Category: Horror, Scams, Cons, Rip-offs, and General Larceny, 1970s

Cobra Skins for Sale

Original ad here.

How much are you willing to bet that these snake skins were a) not cobras and b) were not imported from "British India"...?

And by the way:

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 20, 2016 - Comments (8)
Category: Animals, Taxidermy, Scams, Cons, Rip-offs, and General Larceny, 1950s

John Duval Gluck:  Santa Claus Con Man

The story of this Xmas scammer--as summarized in this article--strikes me as eminently weird, and is detailed at length in the book linked to below. I trust an author whose other publication is the "Weird-o-Pedia."

Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 04, 2015 - Comments (1)
Category: Holidays, Scams, Cons, Rip-offs, and General Larceny, Books, 1910s