Million-dollar objects

Could you guess which Marilyn Monroe's object sold for $4.6 million?

Could you have a gold mine right in your own home and not know it? Everyone keeps a vintage concert ticket, a family heirloom, or some collectible tucked away in a drawer somewhere. But imagine finding out that what you think is clutter is actually worth thousands of dollars. A lock of Elvis Presley’s hair was auctioned for over $100,000, a violin from the Titanic brought in $1.7 million, and even a banana taped to a wall reached an astonishing $6.2 million. These unbelievable sales prove that when nostalgia, fame, and history come together, people will pay jaw-dropping money for the strangest objects imaginable.

You grew up listening to Elvis’ songs and watching his movies. You know from the highlights in his life to trivia details only true fans have. The man was larger than life, and so was his hair.

In November of 2002, a lock of Elvis’ hair sold at auction for a staggering $115,000. The hair had been carefully saved by his longtime barber, Homer Gilleland, who worked with Elvis for over 20 years and kept the trimmings in a plastic bag after giving him haircuts before television appearances and movie shoots. In order to prove its authenticity, Elvis’ associate Tom Morgan Jr. and memorabilia expert John Reznikoff both signed an authenticity certificate that backed the auction for which the anonymous avid fan paid thousands of dollars.

Few movie moments are more recognizable than Marilyn Monroe standing over a subway grate with her iconic white dress blowing up in The Seven Year Itch, the 1955 film_._ Marilyn was a representation of the golden age of movies, which is why items of hers were valued at such a high cost. And the white dress was, probably, the most expensive of them all.

The iconic ivory piece belonged to fellow actress, Singin’ in the Rain star, Debbie Reynolds. Funny enough, she had bought it directly from 20th Century Fox for only $200. Reynolds had spent decades gathering costumes and props from classic movies and hoped to open a dedicated museum. Her project was rejected five times by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and, due to personal debt, she had no other choice but to auction some pieces of her collection. Marilyn’s dress was one of those pieces and was auctioned in 1999 in Los Angeles for no less than $4.6 million dollars.

You’ve learned about the RMS Titanic tragedy growing up, and watched the tragic romance of Jack and Rose in the 1997 movie. More than a century after the sinking, people are still fascinated by this event, and for good reason, considering that we still hear fascinating stories about it.

In 2025, the gold pocket watch belonging to businessman Isidor Straus, co-owner of the Macy’s department stores, sold at auction for an astonishing $2.3 million, setting a new world record for Titanic memorabilia. The previous record had been set just a year earlier in 2024 by a Tiffany & Co. watch gifted to Captain Arthur Rostron of the RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued more than 700 survivors from the icy Atlantic. Three wealthy widows who survived the sinking presented him with the watch as a thank-you for his bravery.

The paintings hanging on your walls have been selected among thousands of pieces, only responding to your personal taste, and that’s because art is subjective. But when you hear that a banana taped to a wall was auctioned and brought in $6.2 million, the conversation takes a fun turn.

Comedian is a duct-taped banana piece of art created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan in 2019, which immediately became the most talked-about artwork in the world. In 2024, the artwork sold at Sotheby’s, New York, for an astonishing $6.2 million to cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun, who later joked he planned to eat the banana himself. The buyer was really paying for a certificate of authenticity and instructions on how to replace the 35-cent-worth banana whenever it rotted. Modern art is not for everyone.

You probably still know the words to plenty of Beatles songs by heart. The Fab Four changed music, fashion, and pop culture forever, and fans have spent decades collecting anything connected to them. Old records, concert posters, sure. But few people expected one of John Lennon’s toilets to become part of history, too.

John Lennon lived in Berkshire, England, from 1969 to 1972, where he recorded part of the Imagine album. But that’s not the only highlight of the apartment. In there, there was also a porcelain toilet, which was handed to his contractor, John Hancock, after the house was remodeled. Instead of getting rid of it, he stored it in a shed for nearly 40 years, and, in 2010, after his death, the unusual piece went up for auction in Liverpool, during the annual Beatles Convention. Organizers were expecting it to sell for $1,300, but instead collected almost $13,000 from an unidentified private overseas investor.

Most people have old notebooks filled with recipes, reminders, or random thoughts. Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks, instead, changed the way people understood science and nature. One of his most famous journals, the Codex Leicester, dates back to the early 1500s and contains da Vinci’s sketches and scientific observations. The pages explore everything from astronomy to the movement of water.

In 1994, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates purchased the manuscript at auction for a staggering $30.8 million, making it the most expensive book ever sold at the time. But it wasn’t for his private library. Gates loans the Codex to museums around the world so visitors can see da Vinci’s work up close.

The new millennium was defined by technology, pop style, and boy bands. Justin Timberlake was part of NSYNC, one of the most popular bands at the time, and fans followed him everywhere. In 2000, during an interview at New York radio station Z-100, Timberlake left behind a partially eaten French toast. Most people would have cleared the table, but one clever DJ saw an opportunity.

The leftover toast was auctioned on eBay, where a 19-year-old superfan from Wisconsin paid $1,025 to own it. Over the years, rumors claimed the toast sold for even more on a second auction, but the original auction price remains one of the strangest celebrity purchases ever recorded.

Most people remember Einstein as the wild-haired genius behind the theory of relativity, but one of his most valuable possessions was not a scientific formula at all. It was a simple handwritten note about happiness.

In 1922, while staying at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo during a lecture tour, Einstein received news that he had won the Nobel Prize in Physics. When a courier arrived at his room with a delivery, Einstein realized he had no cash for a tip. Instead, he handed the messenger two signed notes. One of them read: "A calm and humble life will bring more happiness than the pursuit of success and the constant restlessness that comes with it." Decades later, the message was sold at auction in Jerusalem for an astonishing $1.56 million. The note remained in the courier’s family before being sold by his nephew, proving Einstein’s prediction was right after all.

Chances are, your kids or grandkids have read the worldwide phenomenon, Harry Potter. From the very beginning, the wizard created by English writer J.K. Rowling became an obsession for millions of people around the world. But for Rowling, things weren’t so easy. She was a struggling writer, working on her stories in a small apartment with mismatched secondhand furniture.

One of those chairs, a worn wooden dining chair from the 1930s, became the place where she typed the first two books of the saga. She later painted messages directly onto the piece, including the line: "I wrote Harry Potter while sitting on this chair." Rowling first auctioned the chair in 2002 to raise money for charity; years later, it resurfaced again and was sold at auction in New York for $394,000. The sale included a personal letter from Rowling explaining that the chair was the comfiest she had at the time.

10 weird historical events that no one has been able to explain (yet)

Image: Walters Art Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Who doesn't like a good mystery? And if the mystery isn’t a work of fiction but the result of a true story, even better! The great unsolved enigmas of history are absolutely fascinating. Some have been solved over time, but there are still many old secrets for which neither scientists nor historians have found an explanation—yet. Time-travel with us as we uncover 10 of the biggest historical mysteries that will probably never be cracked!

Image: Tanner, Henry S., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Bermeja Island is mentioned in navigation texts written by European travelers and appears in cartography from the 16th to 19th centuries. Old maps place it off the north coast of the Yucatán Peninsula; however, multiple searches over the years have yielded no concrete evidence of its existence.

So, what happened to Isla Bermeja? Was it a cartographic error? Did it sink due to a tidal wave? Because of its geopolitical significance, some have even suggested that it was blown up by the CIA! A 2009 study by the Autonomous University of Mexico concluded that Isla Bermeja does not exist today, nor were any traces found at its supposed coordinates. Yet, it will forever remain a mystery that will surely keep many entertained.

Image: Credit: Big Ear Radio Observatory and North American AstroPhysical Observatory (NAAPO)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1977, Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio telescope, used in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, detected a signal now known as the Wow! signal. While reviewing the data, astronomer Jerry R. Ehman noticed a sequence represented as "6EQUJ5." Baffled by the anomaly, he circled it and wrote "Wow!" in the margins.

The signal lasted 72 seconds and, unfortunately, has never been repeated. To this day, no one can fully explain the phenomenon, although some suggest it may have come from a man-made source. Still, the Wow! signal remains one of the strongest candidates for potential extraterrestrial contact ever detected.

Image: Edward S. Curtis, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

How is it possible for an entire village to vanish without a trace? Believe it or not, this is said to have happened nearly a century ago. According to lore, a small Inuit village in Canada was well known among fur trappers who visited regularly to trade. But in 1930, something very strange supposedly occurred.

A hunter named Joe Labelle claimed he visited the village one day and couldn’t find a single person. Reports said there were guns and food left behind, and even claims that the graves in the cemetery were empty. A thorough investigation, however, found no conclusive evidence of what happened to the villagers. Some witnesses from nearby towns even reported seeing a huge green light. Theories ranged from mass migration to extraterrestrial abductions. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has since dismissed the case as an urban legend. Some still believe the story to be true.

Image: bbb

We know thousands of shipwreck stories, but this one is quite unique. The MV Joyita, designed to be nearly unsinkable, was found adrift in the South Pacific, practically unharmed, but the crew had disappeared completely.

In October 1955, the American merchant vessel left the port of Apia in Samoa with 16 crew members and 9 passengers bound for the Tokelau Islands. After days without news, a rescue mission was launched. Five weeks later, the Joyita was spotted more than 600 miles west of its intended route. The vessel was partially submerged, and there was no sign of the passengers or crew. Four tons of cargo and all three life rafts were missing. They were never seen again.

Image: Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Do you know where one of the best-preserved mummies was found? Hint: not in Egypt. Xin Zhui, the Marquise of Dai during the Western Han Dynasty in China, was discovered in her tomb at Mawangdui 2,000 years after her death, along with hundreds of valuable documents and artifacts.

What makes this mummy so extraordinary is how well-preserved her body is. Her organs and veins remain intact, and she still has hair and even eyelashes. Scientists analyzed the fluid present in the coffin and discovered it was acidic and contained salt and magnesium. They believe this mysterious liquid may have been responsible for preserving Xin Zhui so well. What they don’t know is whether it was intentionally poured into the coffin or came from the body itself.

Image: Yoichi Okamoto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The United States has its fair share of presidents who died while in office, but none of our 45 presidents have ever disappeared without a trace. Did you know that this actually happened in The Land Down Under?

Harold Edward Holt was the Prime Minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He loved the ocean and spearfishing. During a weekend trip with friends, Holt visited the remote Cheviot Beach to take a swim. Rough sea conditions that day caused him to be swept away by the waves, and he never reappeared. Despite an intensive search, his body was never found, which has given rise to numerous conspiracy theories. Ironically, Australians built the Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre in Melbourne in his honor.

Image: FBI, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Many famous criminals have managed to remain unidentified for decades, but the D.B. Cooper case is something else entirely. In 1971, Cooper boarded a flight from Portland to Seattle. Shortly after takeoff, he showed a flight attendant a device he claimed was a bomb and demanded four parachutes and $200,000 in cash.

The crew landed to meet Cooper’s demands in exchange for the passengers and then took off again. As the plane flew over southwestern Washington, Cooper jumped into the cold, rainy night carrying his haul. His whereabouts and true identity were never discovered, although it is likely he didn’t survive the jump. In 1980, some of the ransom money was found near the Columbia River. Although the FBI officially closed the case in 2016, amateur sleuths continue to try to crack it.

Image: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Can you imagine an epidemic where the main symptom is uncontrollable dancing? Sounds like science fiction, doesn’t it? Yet this really happened during the Middle Ages. In 1518, a dancing plague struck Strasbourg, Alsace, in what is now France. This strange condition affected up to 400 people, making them dance frantically for weeks. It is said that some even died of heart attacks, exhaustion, or strokes.

Doctors and authorities tried all kinds of measures to stop the spread. They even banned music for a while! To this day, scientists are not certain what caused this bizarre condition: it may have been food poisoning from toxins in the ergot fungus, or perhaps a case of stress-induced mass hysteria.

Image: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Voynich manuscript is a codex written roughly 500 years ago in an unknown language and writing system by an anonymous author. Known as Voynichese, the manuscript was named after Wilfrid Voynich, a Polish bibliophile and antiquarian who purchased it in 1912.

Radiocarbon testing has shown that it dates to the early 15th century. Many cryptographers and codebreakers have attempted to decipher its roughly 240 pages without success. The manuscript contains diagrams and illustrations of unknown plants and astrological symbols. Some believe it may be a made-up language, a secret code, a work of fiction, or even a hoax. If you think you can solve this mystery, the Voynich manuscript is available for viewing at Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Image: Bernhard

Similar to the Voynich manuscript, the Phaistos Disc is a fired clay disc believed to have been created during the Bronze Age. It was discovered by an Italian archaeologist in the basement of a palace in Crete, Greece, in 1908.

What makes this disc fascinating is that it contains a mysterious message. Stamped into the clay is a set of signs, forming a text that many scientists have tried to decipher—without success. It is considered an early attempt at printing, a technological innovation that would not become widespread for several centuries. While enthusiasts still hope the enigma can be solved, this is unlikely unless other documents are discovered to provide context.