Air for Sale
 

BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- A Chinese entrepreneur is suing a Beijing trade bureau for denying him a permit to sell bags of "World Cup air" and for scotching his plans to bottle and sell "2008 Olympic air," a newspaper said on Thursday.

Li Jie, who describes himself as chief executive of the Lunar Embassy to China and once tried to sell land on the moon, sought a permit to sell "World Cup air" for 50 yuan ($6.30) a bag to soccer enthusiasts unable to make the trip to Germany this year.

His idea was that fans could hang the green plastic bag around their necks and breathe in the air while watching World Cup matches on television, local media reported.

But the Chaoyang Industry and Commerce Bureau had rejected his application on the grounds that "special air from special places" was not classified as "an industrial category," the Beijing News said.

In court, Li dismissed the assertion that the concept of selling air was unclear and accused the bureau of denying him a "once every four years" sales opportunity.

"The 'special air from special places' I am talking about includes the Olympics, Tiananmen Square, Mount Everest ... the moon, a pigsty, a horse paddock, a sheep pen -- even Chaoyang District No. 3 Court," Li said.

Beijing hosts the 2008 Summer Olympics.

As evidence, Li produced "Little Fox Sells Air" -- a story in a primary school text book about a cunning fox that opens an air-selling business in a polluted city and "does good business", the paper said.

"A textbook could not possibly advocate breaking the law, could it?" Li asked the court.

The case continues.

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I am in the wrong business!!! If this guy can get suckers to buy air for $6.50 a bag *scratched chin thoughtfully* I could retire!

oh wait....they already do that...in Oxygen bars....:ohwell:

Seriously though...Lunar Embassy to China?

Hah... that's a great idea!

There's plenty of precedent for selling air, I think. I'm not sure why he needs a permit. Maybe because he's advocating breathing the stuff.

How rediculous?! I know that some soccer fans border on rabid but thats got to be a bit much...you can't really blame him though: people will buy just about anything...

Why not? Someone sold Hurricane air on ebay and it went for a rather nice price. I forget exactly how much but the guy definitely made some good money. It's amazing how stupid some people are.

I personally know someone who's into buying completely stupid crap on Ebay. The jewel of his collection is a "Perfectly Square Piece of Cardboard". He bought it for $150 CDN. It came in a small envelop with a piece of paper that said "Certificate of Aout*scribbled out*Authenticity? One Perfectly Square Piece of Cardboard! WOW!". He framed it and put it on his wall...

The worst thing I ever bought on ebay was Solstice for NES (Peanut knows what I'm talking about). Even worse, it costed more to ship it to me than it was to buy it. :(

NO! How dare you say Solstice was a bad purchase! HOW DARE YOU!

The only stuff I've ever bought on Ebay have been TMNT comics. I remember buying Fugitoid #1 for $1 and then having to pay $3 for shipping! Boo!

I buy pretty much all my video games on ebay. Nothing beats a good bargain!

Ooo, sniffing air. That's new. :roll: Honestly, the stuff people sell on eBay... I once heard a story that a little girl was afraid of monsters under her bed, so her mom got out the trusty vacum cleaner, cleaned underneath there, and then sold the bag for, what, $50? The wonders of the human mind, no? :lol: