"I Sold My Urine": People Are Revealing The "Dumbest Ways" They've Made Money, And It's Fascinating
Reddit user u/Tier1CSGO asked, "What is the dumbest way you've ever made money?" and the comments came FLOODING in. Now that we're existing in a universe where a tub of regular yogurt costs $8, I was one of the many people curious as to what people have been doing to earn an extra buck or two.
Here are the top-voted answers:
1."Answered an ad on Craigslist. A dude shaved my head and filmed it. Paid me $600."
2."I worked at a recording studio, and one of the engineers was working on a radio commercial. The commercial consisted of some talking and bird whistling sounds. The engineer figured we could just use sound effects for the bird whistles, but nothing was working. The engineer left the session for a bit to get some air, and he told me what was going on. Not to brag, but I’m a pretty good whistler. I started mimicking what the bird 'should' sound like, and his eyes went wide. He dragged me into the session to present what I did. I ended up being hired on the spot. I whistled for one commercial, which happened to be a union gig. So, I signed a contract that basically let me join for the day. I got about $800 for the day, but also received residual checks for a couple more years after that. A couple seconds of whistling earned me about $3,000 in the end."
3."I sold my urine on job sites to guys who knew they were going to be tested."
4."I got a job as a 'fantasy model with long flowing hair' where I modeled for random American fantasy novels. It paid OK-ish, not well. I also signed away my rights like an idiot, so occasionally, I'll see myself at a bookstore riding a horse or casting a spell. I tried to read one of the books, and it started, 'He was not traditionally handsome.' Ouch."
5."I used to get paid to read palms at parties. I don't believe in it at all. Despite my 'entertainment purposes only' disclaimer, people always took it too seriously."
6."Local wannabe mayor payed me to vote for him when I was, like, 18. 😂"
"If that guy ever makes office, that little piece of blackmail is your front door key to a salaried government office job, LOL."
7."Flipping fursuits. As in buying old beat-up ones for cheap, refurbishing them, and selling them at an upcharge once they’re clean and better looking. Takes much less time than actually building a fursuit from scratch (though I’ve done that a few times, too), and furries have a LOT of money."
8."I played a free mobile app game for a year and then sold my account for $350. They wanted to buy it from me because I was at a really high level in the game."
9."My dad had, like, 1,000 Playboys, and I brought them to middle school and sold for $10 a mag."
10."My offer letter was wrong. I asked for a one-time sign-on bonus since I was leaving my match at my previous job. HR agreed, but then instead of doing it as a bonus, they added it to my salary. I didn’t say anything. Two years later, during an audit they caught it. The CEO found out and said, 'Well, even with his raise last year, he still is worth it. Never had to pay it back since it was an HR screw-up and I’m good at my job."
11."Some dude hit my friend with his car while we were crossing the sidewalk in front of a 7-Eleven. We were around 12 at the time, and my friend wasn't hurt except for a bruise that came later. He gave us each $20 to not say anything about it. We bought SO much candy."
12."Reading books to my neighbor's parrot. He was depressed and needed company, apparently. I was 10 years old, and I enjoyed that work very much."
13."Buying Beanie Babies in Canada and selling them to collectors in America in the late '90s. ‘Maple the Bear,’ available only in Canada, would sell for hundreds of dollars across the border. My sister worked at a store that sold them, so we had a large supply at cost."
14."I drove 15 miles with a live pig in the back of an old Volvo 940 Station Wagon to settle a bet between two farmers."
And finally...
15."A guy on the street asked to see my feet, LMAO."
Now, it's your turn! What's a dumb way you've made money before? Comment below!
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
