DePaul graduate student Hemant Mehta had an idea. Instead of selling his soul to the devil (who always ends up screwing you), why not offer it up on Ebay to see how much people would pay to “save” it? It isn’t THAT crazy. I bet lots of people want to know how much their soul is worth. I sure do. The Wall Street Journal had and article the rocketed Mehta to fame a couple of days ago. Unfortunately a subscription is required to access the article. Luckily, Arzan has it pasted in his blog:
A few weeks ago, Hemant Mehta posted an unusual item for sale on eBay: a chance to save his soul.
The DePaul University graduate student promised the winner that for each $10 of the final bid, he would attend an hour of church services. The 23-year-old Mr. Mehta is an atheist, but he says he suspected he had been missing out on something.
“Perhaps being around a group of people who will show me ‘the way’ could do what no one else has done before,” Mr. Mehta wrote in his eBay sales pitch. “This is possibly the best chance anyone has of changing me.”
Evangelists bid, eager to save a sinner. Atheists bid, hoping to keep Mr. Mehta in their fold. When the auction stopped on Feb. 3 after 41 bids, the buyer was Jim Henderson, a former evangelical minister from Seattle, whose $504 bid prevailed.
Mr. Henderson wasn’t looking for a convert. He wanted Mr. Mehta to embark with him on an eccentric experiment in spiritual bridge-building… Days after the auction, Mr. Henderson flew to Chicago to see Mr. Mehta, who is studying to be a math teacher. The two met in a bar, where they sealed a deal a little different from the one the student had proffered. Instead of the 50 hours of church attendance that he was entitled to for his $504, Mr. Henderson asked that Mr. Mehta attend 10 to 15 services of Mr. Henderson’s choosing and then write about it.
Mr. Mehta also agreed to provide running commentary on the church services on the off-the-map site and take questions — bluntly sharing a nonbeliever’s outlook… [Link]
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Hmmm. What is this “off-the-map site” that the article mentions? Could it be…yep, you guessed it. Mehta is a blogger:
I told my mom about the WSJ article. She was thrilled:
Me: Mom, there’s an article about the auction on the front page of the Wall Street Journal!
Mom: Go back to med school. [Link]
All this hoopla got me thinking. It would no longer be original if I put up my soul for sale on Ebay (besides, I’ve already sold it). Instead, what if I offer up my set of keys to the North Dakota bunker which serves as the SM world blogging headquarters? You could use them to create havoc for just one day by taking control of our website. Any takers? The bidding starts at $505. 
$506
One milllllionnn dollars….
50 paisa for you only.
His blog is fascinating…
$450. Oh wait, this isn’t desi style bargaining?
I’m surprised you didn’t propose the “date-a-mutineer” bidding frenzy and opted to bid the keys to North Dakota instead… I wonder which mutineer would bring in the most money on eBay, hmmm…..
If you have to wonder …
Clearly, the trained monkeys.
I’ll raise that to $451, as long as we get a built-in option to convert some of SM HQ’s value to Anna and one other female SM commenter of our choice…..
I’ll even throw in a box of jalebis too. Now that’s generosity for you.
Whats your return policy ;-). Is it 30 day full refund. Being a true brown, I only do that.
Rishi,
It’s a desi bunker. Which means no refunds 😉
Plus I’m guju. 🙂
That means we won’t actually get Anna when we decided to exercise our option. You’ll scam us by supplying us with Vinod in a wig instead.
Vinod looks surprisingly good in a dress.
uh, i AM reading this, you know. 😉
And what do you think of Vinod in a dress?
Vinod looks surprisingly good in a dress.
OMG…that’s just too funny! and yet, very cool. I was expecting something really friggin’ scary when i clicked that link.
Normally I’d find the last part of this post odd and out of place, but bloody hell if it’s not the most obvious ramping up to a prank. Who wants to bet that the one day where there is havoc is April 1.
April 1 is three weeks off and thats the best you lot could come up with…I am disappointed.
I knew a girl who gave away her soul to a friend via paper transaction when they were around 10 years old or so. He grew up and sold it on EBay for $24. A court action for a portion of the proceeds is still pending.
i gave my soul to someone very sweet years ago. he still has it.
Taft: “You know the girl’s death is a stain on your immortal soul.”
John Hall: “Sin and Souls who believes in that shit any more.”
Taft: “You Do John, You Do.”
Pretty good article, Abhi. Really informative– how did he managaed to get on the Wall Steet Journal? lol I would have thought he would have made a bit more than 500 some odd dollars, keep us posted on this.. I would love know what the outcome is.
“I got expelled for cheating on a metaphysics exam; I looked into the soul of the boy sitting next to me” – Woody Allen
Pattie, I also… gave my soul to someone sweet, a good friend of mine- JESUS.
Are souls covered under DMCA?
Pattie, I also… gave my soul to someone sweet, a good friend of mine- JESUS.
hehehe….well, i gave mine to someone far closer to Waheguru than I shall be for a while, and hopefully he’s greatful. His sweet face at least shows much gratitude. 😉
Pattie Kaur
that was funny… tell us more at this “good friend” there seems to be an interesting story behind it.. or u can email the story to me.. lol