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Titanic biscuit sells for £15,000 (and other useless items that sold for thousands)

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A biscuit which had been aboard a lifeboat on the Titanic has sold at auction for £15,000 (S$32,000).

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the Spillers and Bakers Pilot cracker, from a survival kit in a lifeboat, was "the world's most valuable biscuit", reported the BBC.

The 103-year-old cracker was bought by a collector in Greece.

Which raises the question, what would one want a century old biscuit for?

But then, it is not the first useless food items to go under the hammer.

Five fairly useless items that people have paid a lot of money for:

1. Charles and Diana's wedding cake

Prince and Princess of Wales kissing during their wedding. PHOTO: AFP

The royal wedding of Prince Charles and the then Lady Diana in 1981 was watched by an estimated 750 million people.

Last year, someone paid US$1,375 (S$1,710) at auction for the then 33-year-old slice of cake which came wrapped in its original wax paper, doily and original box, monogrammed with the letters CD.

It also included a card which read: "With best wishes from Their Royal Highnesses, the Prince & Princess of Wales".

2. One Direction Niall Horan's half-eaten toast

Niall Horan of One Direction who icreased the value of toast PHOTO: AFP

The half-eaten slice of toast was left by the British boy band's Niall Horan on an Australian talk show in April 2012. On it was some of the must-try Aussie spread, Vegemite.

According to MTV, when it was put up for auction by the TV station on eBay, Directioners hurriedly placed their bids, the highest of which was US$100,000. 

It was all for a good cause too as all proceeds went to benefit the Australian charity Youngcare.

With Horan's leftover's costing that much, $30 for a bag of "1D concert air" almost sounds like a bargain.

 

3.  Lady Gaga's Ghost Detection Machine

Singer Lady Gaga arrives for the premiere of the film "Rock the Kasbah" in New York October 19, 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS

Lady Gaga is notorious for her out-of-this-world clothing and costumes. She is also known for other odd purchases. Back in 2010, it was reported by PopCrush that Gaga bought a US$47,000 Electro Magnetic Field Meter to detect a ghost that had been haunting her. 

Apparently, according to Glamour magazine, the Poker Face singer is petrified of evil spirits and has had every hotel and tour venue she's stayed in and performed at scanned by a team of professional paranormal investigators before she agreed to stay there.

4. John Lennon's tooth

John Lennon revolutionised pop music in the 1960s PHOTO: UNIVERSAL MUSIC

In 2011, the DailyMail reported a Canadian dentist bought the legendary Beatle's molar from Lennon's housekeeper in an auction.

The price? Just over US$30,000.

The reason? Because dentist Michael Zuk wanted to extract enough DNA from the tooth to clone the musician.

In a similar move, Zuk bought one of Elvis Presley's crowns for US$10,000 in 2012.

 

5. Britney Spears' pregnancy test

Singer Britney Spears arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards on August 30, 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS

In 2005, a Canadian radio station sold what was claimed to be the star's pregnancy test for $5,001, reported CNN Money.

The positive test was found in the waste basket in the bathroom of a Los Angeles hotel that Spears and ex-husband Kevin Federline were staying in at that time.

Proceeds from the auction went to two children's charities.


If you happen to have a spare million and change lying around, a company is selling 24 carat gold toilet paper at A$1,376,900 per roll.

The Australian company, Toilet Paper Man, has managed to only produce one roll so far.

It is three-ply and the company claims, "100% usuable and safe".

The description on the website claims: "As you use the toilet paper 24 carat gold flakes onto the floor and your behind, taking you to another level of sophistication."

And they promise to deliver personally with a bottle of champagne — which sounds like a measly addition for anyone able to spend that much on loo roll.

The question is, what occasion is special enough for such an item to be used?

Sources: BBC, CNN Money, MTV, PopCrush

auctionUncategorisedbiscuitBritney SpearsLady GagaNiall Horan