Kyle MacDonald bartered his way from a single red paperclip to a house
Program Titles
- Erecting the World’s Largest Red Paperclip: Guinness World Records
- Most Successful Internet Trade: Guinness World Records
Kyle MacDonald bartered his way from a single red paperclip to a house in a series of online trades over a year.
Running with the idea of taking one small item and attempting to trade it for something more significant, MacDonald has become renowned for his off-beat and inspirational ideas and goals.
Kyle posted a picture of a red paperclip on his blog and in the barter section of Craigslist and asked if anyone wanted to trade it for something bigger or better. A few days later, he traded the paperclip for a pen shaped like a fish and then the pen for a doorknob.
His yearlong adventure in bartering includes trading for a Coleman stove, a ski-doo, a moving van, a music recording contract, an afternoon spent hanging out with Alice Cooper, a movie role, and finally, a house.
“A lot of people have been asking how I’ve stirred up so much publicity around the project, and my simple answer is: ‘I have no idea’”, he told the BBC.
The stories that have come from these adventures are impressive, but MacDonald’s generosity, free spirit, and willingness to look for the positive in things make his story significant.
Kyle MacDonald has spoken to thousands worldwide about the lessons he learned from trading a red paperclip for a house.
He has been interviewed by 20/20, The Today Show, Good Morning America, MSNBC, BBC, CBS, CNN, City TV, Global, USA Today, Maclean’s, The New York Times, The New York Post, In Touch Magazine, VH1, MTV, The National Examiner, Reader’s Digest, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Toronto Star.
He’s been on Japanese television (multiple times), on stage with Alice Cooper at a concert in Fargo, and gained considerable media attention on television and radio worldwide. In addition, Volkswagen Spain and Grolsch Beer made TV commercials based on the story, and Kyle starred in a Mastercard commercial that played off of the Red Paperclip story.
He has now set two Guinness World Records: one for Most Successful Internet Trade, the other for erecting the World’s Largest Red Paperclip.
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