I just saw an article that a Mammoth skeleton is going up for auction in Paris. According to the article, Sotheby’s will be conducting the auction and expects the Mammoth to go for upwards of (EURO)185,000 ( or US $240,000). However, my first thought on this is that, even at that price, the Mammoth is actually likely cheaper than space to put it in.
For example, though it isn’t an exact science, this article suggests that a one bedroom apartment (40-60 square meters) in Paris will likely go for around (EURO)400,000. Simple math shows that you could get two Mammoth skeletons for that. Further, I really doubt that you could fit an entire, reconstructed Mammoth skeleton in an average 40-60 square meter one bedroom apartment.
There is only one conclusion: Paris apartments are more valuable than Mammoth skeletons.
This just floors me. Sure, I know that there are huge numbers of people who want to live in Paris. I know that those numbers vastly exceed the available space, driving up costs. Still, we’re talking about a Mammoth skeleton. The skeleton of a creature from the Middle Paleolithic period. The days of the Neanderthals and all that kind of stuff. Isn’t that kind of rare too? How many Mammoth skeletons do we have wandering around out there? Surely less than the number of apartments in Paris.
Now, I know…not everybody wants a Mammoth. It’s probably a supply and demand kind of thing where even though Mammoths are much rarer, not many people beyond museums, scientists, and fossil buffs want one. Still, this just kind of floors me that a Mammoth skeleton is closer to my price range than a dinky apartment in Paris.
