I feel like I write about a new NFT (non-fungible token) situation here every time I grudgingly rise from my crypt on weekend mornings. First I struggled to understand exactly what the whole gimmick was about, then wondered why anyone would be willing to spend millions of dollars on something we can all watch for free. And now? I’m obsessed with NFT-ing any weird shit I’ve created in order to cash out and hightail it to my best life in an abandoned castle somewhere with a naked and hot cleaning staff, 24/7 room service, and a huge, anti-social moat filled with the finest of randy Florida alligators.
Until that momentous day presents itself, I’m here to offer you today’s installment of NFT Cashout, featuring the ubiquitous “Disaster Girl” meme.
According to Yahoo! Finance:
The “Disaster Girl” photo that sparked a thousand memes is the latest to make it big all over again as an NFT. Zoe Roth, a 21-year-old college student and face of the viral “Disaster Girl,” sold an NFT of the meme for roughly $500,000 worth of Ether, The New York Times reported. The auction took place earlier this month, on auction site Foundation. Roth plans to use the funds to pay for school and make donations to charity, she told The Times.
The now iconic image dates back to 2005, when her father, David Roth, snapped the photo in their neighborhood while watching local firefighters at a controlled burn. Eventually, he entered it into a contest (he won), and the photo was quickly picked up by internet forums, according to Know Your Meme.
If you’re scratching your head at “Ether,” it’s short for “Ethereum” and is a cryptocurrency, but more contract-based than Bitcoin.
It’s a pretty safe bet that camera-wielding dad David had no idea where the fun and sinister photo of his then five-year-old daughter would lead, and also safe to assume that all of our parents are now viciously kicking themselves in the taint because they didn’t capture one of our more evil expressions to one day pay for our college educations (while allegedly destroying the environment) and keep them from having to make the sacrifices we keep hearing about decades later and will continue hearing about well into the afterlife.
Congrats to Zoë and her dad, and maybe they could kick some of the spoils over to the firefighters who made that iconic backdrop happen.
Here is a grown-up Zoë (a few months pre-NFT) to give us her play-by-play of the day’s events back in 2005:
