People are obsessed with Among Us, a free, addictive online multiplayer game featuring two-legged crew members. If you're not hooked yet, here's the rundown of what it's all about. If you're a fan already, ask yourself if you're nutty enough to blow $100,000 on a chicken nugget that looks like a character from the game.
eBay seller polizna posted an auction with the catchy title McDonald's Among Us shaped Nugget from BTS Meal. With 12 hours left, it's had 183 bids and reached the lofty height of $99,897 as of Thursday morning.
The seller said the nugget will be frozen and then air-sealed to ensure freshness before shipping.
McDonald's nuggets are formed into four classic shapes: bell, boot, ball and bone. It appears the Among Us nugget may be a variation on the "bone" or possibly a mutated "boot." The condition is "used."
Among Us is all the rage in gaming.
There's an extra incentive for fans of South Korean pop band BTS, which partnered up with McDonald's for some unique meal packages. The nugget came from one of those BTS meals.
Polizna, who goes by the name Tav, told me this particular Among Us nugget wasn't the first one on the auction site, but that the nugget has an "unmistakable correlation with the actual character, even including an odd bump on the back that would represent the backpack."
The high-flying auction has attracted quite a few others like it. There are ones that reached $50,000 and topped $14,000 in bids. The official Among Us Twitter account shared Tav's auction, which might help boost the bidding war.
If the Among Us, BTS and McDonald's combination wasn't enough, there's another incentive to throw in your bid. The Xbox Twitter account tweeted, "For that price it must come with Szechuan Sauce." Well, Tav does indeed have a stash of Rick and Morty Szechuan sauce and will ship some with the nugget if the buyer requests it.
Memories of a wild $100,000 auction for a Harambe gorilla-shaped Cheeto back in 2017 inspired Tav to post the nugget.
Tav has realistic expectations, telling CNET, "I had figured it would get somewhere around $50 but nothing like this, at the end of the day there are some people out there who *would* pay some absurd price for a McDonald's chicken nugget, but I don't think the final bidder will actually go through with the purchase as there are lots of people who bid on things like this for the 'memes.'"
The nugget auction has turned in a fun adventure for Tav, who had been an Among Us player "back when it had a spike in popularity," but doesn't play the game frequently anymore.
It could be the perfect gift for a fan of both Among Us and BTS. Or it might just be the world's weirdest impulse buy. No matter what, Tav is satisfied: "I have no expectation for any amount of cash and whatever ends up happening i'm just glad I got to be part of it and I've received messages from people saying that they got a good laugh so that alone was worth it."
