How many people noticed the Google Doodle on Thursday, October 18 (see image on left)? For even the most literary minded browser, the connection between October 18 and the novel, Moby Dick, was a bit obscure. Still, it was an unusual (and amusing) tribute honoring the 161st anniversary of the Herman Melville classic.
In keeping with the celebration of the symbolic story of man, whale, and the tremendous physical and spiritual toll both endure, this Friday Funny pays tribute to an equally astonishing feat. Well, perhaps that’s a slight exaggeration….
Earlier this year, a Florida man listed his creation—a full version of Melville’s Moby Dick hand typed on four and a half rolls of toilet paper (including epilogue!)—on the online auction site, eBay. Completed on a bet from a friend, the project was typed on two-ply toilet paper.
From the original listing:
My friend and I once joked that toilet paper should have instructions printed on them for certain people. One day, the conversation grew from there and turned into a wager that I couldn’t (or wouldn’t) be able to type out a novel on toilet paper.
Yes, we did have some time on our hands but, as you can see from the photos, I won the bet.
There are four full rolls, one roll (epilogue) is about 1/5 of a roll and one half-roll. All of the rolls of TP came out of a brand new — clean — package of 2-ply Cottonelle. They’ve been handled very gingerly and infrequently.
The item was originally listed for $999.95 and received no bids. The seller relisted the “this mod oddity, which had been kept in a box in a cool, dry place for the last 10 years,” but the reserve was not met at $320. The listing can be found under “Everything Else > Weird Stuff > Slightly Unusual” or by clicking this link.
