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An online casino said it placed the winning 28,000-dollar
bid for a 10-year-old partly eaten grilled cheese sandwich,
seen here, said to bear the image of the Virgin Mary, and
wants to take it on a world tour
(AFP) | |
A decade-old toasted cheese sandwich said to bear an image of the
Virgin Mary has sold on the eBay auction website for $28,000.
An internet casino
confirmed it had purchased the sandwich, saying it had become a "part of
pop culture".
Goldenpalace.com says it will take the sandwich on world tour before
selling it and donating the money to charity.
Diane Duyser, from Florida, says the sandwich has never gone mouldy since she made it 10 years
ago.
By the time the sandwich auction closed on Monday the sale had received
over 1.7 million hits on the auction site.
"We will definitely use the sandwich to raise money for charity, and we
hope it will raise people's spirits as well," said Richard Rowe, the
casino's CEO.
"We believe that everyone should be able to see it and learn of its
mystical power for themselves."
Last week, Mrs Duyser told reporters she noticed the image burned into
her sandwich as she was about to tuck
into it in autumn 1994.
"I went to take a bite out of it, and then I saw this lady looking at
me," she said, according to the Chicago Tribune newspaper.
"I hollered for him," she
said, gesturing to her husband, Greg. "It scared me at first."
She says she has done nothing to preserve the sandwich except keeping
it in a plastic box, but "it doesn't fall apart or crumble or anything".
Nevertheless, before auctioning her sandwich Mrs Duyser cautioned
buyers that it was "not intended for consumption".
The item has inspired sellers to place dozens of spin-off items on the online auction
site, including attempts at replica burnt toast, T-shirts, ornamental
plates, and domain names.
One seller is even offering a "Virgin Mary" sandwich toaster - though
the item description includes the caveat that the item "may or may not
reproduce the Virgin Mary image".
(Agencies) |
一塊已有十年歷史的吐司乳酪三明治在eBay拍賣網站上賣到了2萬8千美元，據說這塊三明治上面有圣母瑪利亞的肖像。
一個網上賭場承認是他們買走了這塊三明治，并表示它已經成為“通俗文化的一部分”。
這個名叫“黃金宮殿”的網站（Goldenpalace.com）表示，他們將帶著這塊三明治環球旅行，然后把它賣掉，將所得款項捐給慈善團體。
來自佛羅里達的黛安·德伊瑟說，這塊三明治是她10年前做的，10年來它從未發霉變質。
截止到周一拍賣活動結束時，這塊三明治在拍賣網站上被點擊的次數已經超過170萬次。
網上賭場的執行總裁理查德·羅說：“我們肯定會用這塊三明治來為慈善事業籌集資金，同時我們也希望它能振奮人們的精神。”
“我們覺得每個人都應該有機會看到它，并了解其中神秘的力量。”
上周，德伊瑟女士告訴記者說，1994年秋天，當她正要大口吃掉這塊三明治時，她發現（圣母瑪利亞的）肖像已經“烙”在了三明治上。
據《芝加哥論壇報》報道，她說：“我當時正要一口咬下去，突然看到這位夫人注視著我。”
她一邊向她的丈夫做手勢，一邊說：“我當時大喊著叫他過來。剛開始我真被嚇了一大跳。”
她說，她并沒有采取任何特殊措施來保存這塊三明治，只是把它放在一個塑料盒子里。但是“它并沒有裂開，破碎或怎么樣”。
不過，在拍賣她的三明治之前，德伊瑟女士還是提醒購買者，“這可不是讓你買來食用的”。
這件拍賣品啟發了賣家們，他們在在線拍賣網站上放了幾十種副產品，包括燒焦的吐司面包的復制品，T恤衫，裝飾性的盤子，還有域名。
一位賣家甚至提供了一個“圣母瑪利亞”牌三明治烤箱。盡管該商品的說明上有著防止誤解的提示：這件商品“或許可以，或許無法再現圣母瑪利亞的形象”。
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2004-11-25 10:10