One day a man went to an auction. While there, he bid on a parrot. He really wanted this bird, so he got caught up in the bidding.  He kept on bidding, but kept getting outbid, so he bid higher and higher and higher. Finally, after he bid way more than he intended, he won the bid - the parrot was his at last!
     As he was paying for the parrot, he said to the auctioneer, "I sure hope this parrot can talk. I would hate to have paid this much for it, only to find out that he can't talk!"
     "Don't worry." said the auctioneer, "He can talk. Who do you think kept bidding against you?"

In 1996 a man paid $750 at an auction for fossilized nuggets of dinosaur feces.

     A beat-up old television set was up for sale at an auction. The auctioneer stated that he didn't think the TV worked and started the bidding at $1 just to get rid of it. A man in the back of the room held up his card with number "33" on it and upped the bid to $20. Surprised, but relieved, the auctioneer banged his gavel and roared "SOLD!"
     About an hour later in the auction, a vintage lamp came up for auction and a woman in the back of the room held up a card with number "33" on it. Wanting to verify the number, the auctioneer asked if the man who bought the TV was her husband.
      "He was," she snapped, "before he bought that television set."