posted on: Tuesday, August 02, 2005

The 5/15/05 Nonprofit Times included this nugget in their report on nonprofit fundraising auctions, without a drop of irony, sarcasm, or commentary. Noting that the Wildlife Conservation Society auctioned off the rights to name a new species of monkey discovered in Bolivia, they wrote:

“The auction ran from February 24 to March 3. The winning $650,000 bid was placed by internet casino GoldenPalace.com. The online casino has chosen to name the species Callicebus aureipalatii, which is Latin for “Golden Palace”, since the “.com” cannot be translated. GoldenPalace.com is no stranger to winning unique online auctions. The company garnered attention in November 2004 when it placed the $28,000 winning bid in an eBay auction selling a 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich bearing what some believe is the image of the Virgin Mary.”