How much is it worth to you to be in on a joke?
Nothing? $10? How about $40,000?
We’ve been contemplating that this week because, of course, of the remarkable story of what has to be the world’s most expensive potato salad.
Short version: Guy makes a kickstarter to make potato salad, puts it on internet, it goes viral, and explodes in a hail of dollars.
What is it about things like this that makes us want to buy in?
New York Magazine’s blog The Science of Us wrote about the transitive property of internet humor – that these moments of virality bind us together in some type of hypermodern experiential campfire. I think that’s true, in part. But they also hit a sweet spot between cynicism (the modern world has ruined everything) and joy (we can contribute to something silly and whimsical). There is originality and connection in the world and we’re constantly discovering new ways to find it.
In our brunch segment this week on Marketplace Weekend, our contributor Jessica Pressler reminded me of the New York bus monitor whose video bullying by students went viral. That incident tapped into our altruistic financial impulses and she received some $700,000 in donations via Indiegogo.
Maybe I’m too optimistic, but I have this hope (stoked by our other bruncher, Joe Weisenthal), that someone will go looking for the potato salad, and stumble onto other Kickstarters. Maybe fund a classroom computer. Someone’s medical treatment. Food for a shelter. A pet rescue. Something else that binds us together when we are otherwise fragmented, pixilated, and far apart.
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