{"id":35633,"date":"2025-08-11T15:17:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T19:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/?p=35633"},"modified":"2025-08-18T09:38:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T13:38:23","slug":"why-i-bought-the-stapler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/why-i-bought-the-stapler\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Bought the Stapler"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"postie-post\">\n<div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">&#8211; The post details FBB4&#8217;s purchase of a stapler that damaged a Nintendo Switch 2, auctioned by GameStop for $250,000, with proceeds aiding Children&#8217;s Miracle Network Hospitals, which has funded over $9 billion in pediatric care since its founding 40 years ago.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">&#8211; This stapler incident, dubbed &#8220;Staplegate,&#8221; ties into GameStop&#8217;s history of meme stock movements, notably the 2021 short squeeze where retail traders drove the stock from $17.25 to over $500, challenging Wall Street&#8217;s dominance, as documented in the Wikipedia entry on the GameStop short squeeze.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">&#8211; The auction reflects a cultural shift where a retail blunder transforms into a charitable artifact, supported by evidence from Business Insider and GameSpot, highlighting how social media amplifies such events into significant financial and emotional narratives. &nbsp;<meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/p>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image0-3.jpeg\" alt=\"image0.jpeg\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">Why I Bought the Stapler<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">When GameStop listed the infamous stapler for auction, it felt obvious\u2026..&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">An exclusive piece of official GameStop lore, practically a relic.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">To me, GameStop has always represented the first true meme trade where the power of the collective outplayed Wall Street at its own game.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">The movement turned retail traders into a major force that openly defied corrupt market manipulation.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">Since then we&#8217;ve seen this happen again and again, and its influence has extended into crypto, which is actually the perfect arena for memes to thrive. An open, transparent, immutable market.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">And the fact that the auction proceeds are helping the Children&#8217;s Miracle Network Hospitals made the purchase even more meaningful.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">Being able to meet some of the kids who benefit from CMNH&#8217;s work was very special.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">We turned a piece of meme history into something that delivers real-world impact for kids and families who need it most.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">So yeah, I bought the stapler.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">My feeling is that conviction isn&#8217;t just a position. It&#8217;s a belief in the story you&#8217;re willing to carry forward and stand behind\u2026.. even if it weighs less than a pound and fits in a display case!<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">@gamestop @CMNHospitals<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" style=\"border: 1px solid #ccd6dd; border-radius: 12px\" width=\"500\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"3\" style=\"font-size: 0px; line-height: 0px\" height=\"12\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"18\" style=\"font-size: 0px; line-height: 0px; min-width: 18px\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td>\n<table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"464\" align=\"left\">\n<tbody>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td width=\"48\" valign=\"top\"><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/fbb4official?s=43\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/profile_images\/1863926049760845824\/48P3ZL3L_normal.jpg\" style=\"border-radius: 50%; padding: 0px\" height=\"48\" width=\"48\" data-unique-identifier=\"\"><\/a><\/td>\n<td width=\"8\" style=\"font-size: 0px; line-height: 0px; min-width: 8px\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ea.twimg.com\/email\/self_serve\/media\/spacer.png\" width=\"8\" data-unique-identifier=\"\"><\/td>\n<td valign=\"middle\" width=\"388\" style=\"min-width: 388px\">\n<table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" align=\"left\" width=\"388\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" width=\"388\"><b><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/fbb4official?s=43\" style=\"font-family: Helvetica, Arial, san-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; color: #292c2f; text-decoration: none\">FBB4<\/a><\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\"><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/fbb4official?s=43\" style=\"font-family: Helvetica, Arial, san-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; color: #7e8c98\">\u2066\u202a@fbb4official\u202c\u2069<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"20\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ea.twimg.com\/email\/self_serve\/media\/logo_twitter-1497383721365.png\" height=\"20\" width=\"24\" data-unique-identifier=\"\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"9\" colspan=\"4\" style=\"font-size: 0px; line-height: 0px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ea.twimg.com\/self_serve\/media\/spacer_464x1-1582829598167.png\" width=\"464\" height=\"1\" data-unique-identifier=\"\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"4\" style=\"font-family: Helvetica, Arial, san-serif; color: #292c2f; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none\">Why I Bought the Stapler<\/p>\n<p>When GameStop listed the infamous stapler for auction, it felt obvious\u2026..<\/p>\n<p>An exclusive piece of official GameStop lore, practically a relic.<\/p>\n<p>To me, GameStop has always represented the first true meme trade where the power of the collective outplayed <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dI9YkOOkkd\"><span>pic.x.com\/dI9YkOOkkd<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"3\" colspan=\"4\" style=\"font-size: 0px; line-height: 0px\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"4\"><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/fbb4official\/status\/1954609349273555141?s=43\" style=\"font-family: Helvetica, Arial, san-serif; color: #667785; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none\">8\/10\/25, 1:22\u202fPM<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"18\" style=\"font-size: 0px; line-height: 0px; min-width: 18px\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"3\" style=\"font-size: 0px; line-height: 0px\" height=\"12\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\n<div><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\">Hunter Pence shared thoughts before winning WORLD SERIES&#8217; Game #7<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=usu0luYy9pw<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\">Steve Jobs Texted me on&nbsp;<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\">650-283-8008<\/span><\/span><span dir=\"ltr\" style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\">&nbsp;in the same way Palo Alto Steve Jobs called Bill Hewlett in Palo Alto&nbsp;<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/div>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/superSaiyanSkai\/status\/1941392367304761636\/video\/1\" style=\"caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><font color=\"#000000\">https:\/\/x.com\/superSaiyanSkai\/status\/1941392367304761636\/video\/1<\/font><\/a><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\">9:59<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\">&nbsp;video sums up 14 chapters of a book coming out 11-11-2019 &#8220;What They Will NEVER Teach You at Stanford Business School&#8221;<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ejeIz4EhoJ0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><br \/>\nFashion Week&#8217;s front row<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QXIaNZi3mHQ<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><br \/>\nWhat A Super Model Can Teach a Harvard MBA About Credit&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.slideshare.net\/larrychiang\/what-a-super-model-can-teach-a-harvard-mba-about-credit\">www.slideshare.net\/larrychiang\/what-a-super-model-can-teach-a-harvard-mba-about-credit<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><\/p>\n<p>American Express hosts me mentoring you about FICO scores at New York Fashion Week<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/inxTmZAj\">t.co\/inxTmZAj<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><\/p>\n<p>My video boils down 20,000 hours and moves you to the right on the entrepreneur bell curve&nbsp;<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eudADPfTWiE<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><\/p>\n<p>CEO of Duck9<br \/>\nFounding EIR @Stanford<\/p>\n<p>Duck9 = &#8220;Deep Underground Credit Knowledge&#8221; 9<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\">www.duck9.com\/blog<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\">650-566-9600<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\">650-566-9696<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\">&nbsp;(direct)<br \/>\ncell:&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\">650-283-8008<\/span><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><\/p>\n<p>****************<br \/>\nEditor of the widely syndicated &#8220;What They Don&#8217;t Teach at School&#8221;<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/blog\">whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/blog<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><\/p>\n<p>CNN Video Channel:&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/ireport.cnn.com\/people\/larrychiang\">ireport.cnn.com\/people\/larrychiang<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><\/p>\n<p>Read my last 10 X posts at&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.X.com\/LarryChiang\">www.X.com\/LarryChiang<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><\/p>\n<p>Author of #WTDTYASBS a NY Times Bestseller released 09-09-09 at #NYFW on a runway under the tents<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/blog\/?s=Ny+times+bestseller\">whattheydontteachyouatstanfordbusinessschool.com\/blog\/?s=Ny+times+bestseller<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><\/p>\n<p><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/embed\/c0d4562ea2049\">www.fastcompany.com\/embed\/c0d4562ea2049<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><\/p>\n<p>52 Cards. Two Jokers. What They DO Teach You at Stanford Engineering<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vDBY0GkI3-g<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><\/p>\n<p>Emergency swings and cutting deals as an 9 year old<\/p>\n<p><\/span><span style=\"background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)\"><span dir=\"ltr\"><span dir=\"ltr\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OFGY7v9C4G0&amp;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8211; The post details FBB4&#8217;s purchase of a stapler that damaged a Nintendo Switch 2, auctioned by GameStop for $250,000, with proceeds aiding Children&#8217;s Miracle Network Hospitals, which has funded over $9 billion in pediatric care since its founding 40 years ago. &#8211; This stapler incident, dubbed &#8220;Staplegate,&#8221; ties into GameStop&#8217;s history of meme stock [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-turnarounds"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35633"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35810,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35633\/revisions\/35810"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.duck9.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}