In 2005, Canadian blogger Kyle Macdonald traded a single red paperclip for a pen shaped like a fish. Fourteen trades later, he had the home of his dreams and a level of internet fame that most people can only aspire to.
You can read about Kyle’s adventure here.
Eleven years on, and the Lancaster University Barnardo’s Society have decided to follow in Kyle’s footsteps. Beginning with this humble green paperclip, my task is to barter with friends, family and total strangers for items of – in theory – steadily increasing value. Come 2017, the final item I am left with will be sold, with proceeds going towards the Barnardo’s charity.
I wasn’t sure about this to begin with. The very idea of it seems impossible, the sort of story you read about over Facebook that could happen to anybody else, but never to you. Also, the idea of approaching a stranger and asking them to exchange a green paperclip for anything at all they’d be willing to give up is one that I’m already finding daunting. I can picture the bemused looks from people, uncertain as to whether they should laugh…
Moreover, is this going to work? Can I actually go from one simple paperclip to a substantial donation simply through the exchange of random junk? What if I get to the end still stuck with a paperclip, or with an even more worthless item? What if I give up?
But this is all for a good cause, a great cause in fact, and that’s why I’m determined to take on the Green Paperclip Challenge and see where it takes me. I’m hoping that my worries will be proven wrong, and that I might make some friends along the way.
Wish me luck and watch this space!
Watch Buzzfeed take on the Paperclip Challenge at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0j6u2jGfw8
Find out more about Barnardo’s at https://www.barnardos.org.uk/