The Popcorn Stand: It takes a hunka hunka licking and keeps ticking

One of the many things I write about in this Popcorn Stand are the rare or weird items that are worth a lot of money. Like the Cheeto that looked like Harambe the gorilla was supposedly worth $100,000, which I suspect was really “fake news.”

I’ve written before I think a Cheeto that looked like Elvis could be worth $100,000. Maybe not, but something that belonged to Elvis that’s really valuable is, well, actually really valuable. And definitely more valuable than that Harambe Cheeto was supposedly worth. When an 18K white gold watch with 44 diamonds Elvis wore to celebrate his 75 millionth record sale in 1960 was only going to command between $53,000 and $106,000, I thought that really wasn’t that much. You mean to tell me that Harambe Cheeto was supposedly worth as much or more than a cool and historic Elvis watch?

But alas I found out the Elvis watch was auctioned off Saturday for $1.8 million. Now that’s more like it. So maybe a Cheeto shaped like Elvis would be worth $100,000. And since that Elvis watch did have 44 diamonds, maybe that $1.8 million was a bargain. I’ve never really understood what makes stuff worth a lot of money. Some things I thought would be worth a lot money, not so much, while other things I wouldn’t pay a plug nickel for are worth a lot of money.

It’s like Yogi said, “a nickel ain’t worth a dime any more.”

But at least when it comes to Elvis’ watch, it caused a hunka, hunka burning in someone’s wallet.

— Charles Whisnand