(Image credit: Alex Eben Meyer)
Never scoff at the life-altering power of a single Hamilton.
1. A HOUSE
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has a program called the Dollar Home Initiative. It’s not a gimmick: When single-family homes go into foreclosure, the Federal Housing Administration tries to sell them.
If they can’t book a sale within six months, they make them available to low-income families for just $1.
2. A MOVIE FRANCHISE
In the early 1980s, a producer named Gale Anne Hurd bought the rights to an unknown movie for $1. The movie was The Terminator, directed by James Cameron, whose only feature at the time was Piranha Part Two: The Spawning. He’s regretted the deal ever since.
3. A WHOLE NEW LOOK
Stand-up comic Sara Blakely was irritated by the white pants in her closet. “Every time I went to put them on, I had issues,” she said. Instead of using them as a comedy bit, she tackled the problem. She took scissors ($1.99) to pantyhose ($2.49) and cut off the feet. Then she slipped on the slacks over the hose. The result: finally getting to wear her pants without unsightly lines, and a new invention—Spanx.
4. A KICK IN THE PANTS
When Stephen Dubner first moved to New York City, he spent $10 on a copy of Ring, Jonathan Yardley’s biography of sportswriter Ring Lardner. “It somehow persuaded me that I too could make it as a writer in New York,” he said. Since then, Dubner’s Freakonomics and SuperFreakonomics have sold more than 7 million copies.
5. A HAPPIER HOLIDAY
Every Christmas, Byron Reese’s parents gave him letters from Santa.
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