Man Sells Soul on Internet

From Yahoo News:

A New Zealand man has put his soul up for auction to the highest bidder, noting that it is "a merry old soul" rather than a "funk soul brother" but that he would "would like to think there is a bit of funk in there somewhere."

Walter Scott, 24, put his soul up for sale on New Zealand Internet auction site TradeMe, and so far has received more than 100 expressions of interest.

Bids in the auction, which was to close Thursday, had reached $189 late Wednesday.

Scott said he had been thinking about selling his soul for ages.

"I can't see it, touch it or feel it, but I can sell it, so I'm going to palm it off to the highest bidder," he said.

It was in "pretty good nick" except for a rough patch six years ago when he reached the legal drinking age, he said.

Advice from a lawyer was that the winning bidder would not be entitled to anything but Scott's soul and would not be able to own or control him in any way, he said.

The successful bidder will receive a framed deed of "soul ownership," Scott said.

TradeMe business manager Michael O'Donnell said the auction complied with the site's rules because a physical object — the deed of ownership — would change
hands.

"I think he has entered into the spirit of the (online) community (and) he's also responded to our request to have a physical thing for sale and he's put together a nice looking deed for ownership," O'Donnell said.

I can't help suspecting that, if the young man regards his soul in such a cavalier manner, he may find that he has already sold it and is therefore committing fraud by attempting to sell it again. Since the current owner would be the Lowest Bidder of all, however, I also suspect that the commission of fraud merely adds to the item's flavor.

As to whether the New Owner can or cannot "own or control him in any way," the results may turn out to be an unpleasant surprise for Mr. Scott, whatever his attorney claims. The New Owner is. after all, the Fatherof Lawyers.