a special message from Kyle

Man was that ever a rad video of Fonzie on Happy Days or what? The best part is how at the end he hits the shore and walks away from the stunt. Fonzie is so cool. If you didn't see the original "Jump the Shark" video that spawned the term, check it out here.

Switching gears now. A lot:

If you look through the current offers for one KISS snow globe, and comments on the offers for the KISS snow globe, and think about it for a second, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to figure out who I'm going to trade with next. I actually received the next trade item as an offer about a month ago, but I simply didn't have anything this person could use at the time. Because of this, I never guaranteed I'd trade with him or her. (yes - I'm trying to keep you guessing who it is...) I never sought out a snow globe and actually never thought of the snow globe up-trade angle until I found out Mark Herrman had one when he called ten days ago. The fact that it was a KISS snow globe was just icing on the cake. The cake of ridiculousness. Until Mark called I literally had no idea who I was going to trade with for one afternoon with Alice Cooper. By doing this move, I also wanted to see what would happen if I made a trade "down" for something - to see how people would react. The response (read the comments after the entry on this page) made it clear that not quite everybody understands that this project is about people, and not the saleable value of objects.

Mark Herrmann was the ONLY person who called me up and said why an afternoon with Alice Cooper was important to him and how it could potentially change his life for the better. He explained how he was an aspiring concert photographer and that if he could hang out with Alice Cooper it'd be a bit of a break for him in the pursuit of his dream. He got lucky because he was in the right place at the right time with (surprisingly, in this case) the right trade item. But he didn't just sit there on the couch and wait for his luck to happen - he made the call. He got involved. Sure, there was a massive case of "right place, right time, right trade object" going on, but in order for that to happen, you have to put yourself in the right place with something and just hope it's the right time. I could get really deep and introspective and talk about how that's kinda a great metaphor for life itself, but I'll use this somehow appropriate anecdote that features Darryl Strawberry instead.

When I was a kid I collected baseball cards and read Beckett Monthly. It's what we did. I'd always flip directly to the back and check the current value of my 1986 Darryl Strawberry Topps card to see what it was worth. But did I ever sell it? Nope. Did I ever trade it with somebody for a pen and fill out a potentially sweepstakes-winning entry form? Nope - I didn't even take a shot at the sweepstakes - and I love entering sweepstakes. I just chewed my stick of rock-hard gum and dreamed about what I could buy with the $5.00 the card was "worth". (MINT COND) - So it was only worth what I thought it was in my mind's eye. I've so totally lost that card since then, and still haven’t won the sweepstakes. Any sweepstakes.

So that's my message with this project I guess: something is only ever worth whatever somebody is willing to give you for it. But if you don't step up and trade away your "one red paperclip", then there ain't nuthin' that's never gonna happen to that silly little "red paperclip" sitting on your desk - except that maybe it'll get the honor and dignity of holding together your prized stack of baseball cards, including Dan Gladden, Oil Can Boyd, Atlee Hammaker and Rance Mulliniks

It didn’t take long with this project to realize I can trade up to a house and help people out – so that's exactly what I'm going to do.

I’m more than blown away by the sheer number of people around the world who follow one red paperclip every day. I think there's a lot of people out there that check the site more than I do. The experiences have been awesome, but the most important thing is everyone around here has been awesome. Early on I introduced a self-made word called funtential. ORP has met and exceeded its potential for funtential, but I still think the best is yet to come.

Back in the days of one instant party, I came up with another word: "furiousity". Maybe we can say that furiousity is a rare combination of anger/shock/curiousity/inexplicable mindblowingness, and that it really only truly ever occurred for the first time in the history of the world, ever, when I traded the afternoon with Alice Cooper for a KISS snow globe. Yeah, I think that'll probably work just fine as far as the definition of furiousity goes.

Anyhow, I'm doing nothing short of trading up to the house in the fastest and bestest way that I feel sticks to my principle of funtential, and I will not stop making trades until I own a house outright.

one red paperclip is about the journey and experiences of trading from one red paperclip to a house, and above all else, it's about meeting people along the way. one red paperclip is not a preconceived idea, it has unfolded over the past 10 months and taken on a life of its own. There are no rules. I'm literally flying by the seat of my pants on this. This project is 100% legit and happens in real time. I got the call from Yahk after I randomly said their town's name on the air, and I never could have guessed that I'd ever be on stage with Alice Cooper. Those two serendipitous events totally blew me away by their awesomeness. I have literally no idea what will be offered for my next item or who it will come from. There is no plan, and that's the only plan I've got.

I'll announce who I'm trading the snow globe with on Friday June 2nd at 8:18 AM EST.

If you want to trade something for whatever my next trade item happens to be, well, you know what to do.

Have fun - Kyle

PS - I've found collecting snowglobes to be a delightfully wonderful hobby. If you're interested in taking up the pastime, I suggest that you read this.