Man trades paperclip for a house

Posted: 13 Jul 2006 10:54:57 GMT

A Canadian man has followed an unorthodox route to homeownership by trading a red paperclip for a house.

Kyle MacDonald began his venture a year ago, based on a children's game called Bigger and Better. The challenge of the game is to trade one item for something a little more impressive and continue to do so until it becomes impossible to take it any further.

And the 26-year-old Canadian always hoped that his audacious journey would eventually result in a house in which he could live with his girlfriend.

With the help of his website, Mr Kyle exchanged the paperclip for a fish-shaped pen and then the pen for a hand-made doorknob. The doorknob was swapped for a camping stove, which in turn was exchanged for a 1,000 watt generator.

A beer keg came next, followed by a snow mobile - by which time Mr Kyle's website had gained a large and devoted audience.

He eventually traded an afternoon with rock legend Alice Cooper for a snow globe, which he was then able to exchange for a speaking role in a forthcoming Hollywood film, Donna on Demand.

And the story came to a stunning conclusion when the town of Kipling offered Mr Kyle a 1920s house in return for the film role. The town will soon be auditioning for the role, while Mr Kyle is looking forward to moving into his new home.


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