Free stuff

Don't you just love free stuff? Maybe people who come from wealthy backgrounds don't, but those of us who grew up in modest or poor families love it. It's stuff... that's free. I mean, how can you go wrong?


My latest free thing is the above. A Just Married bumper sticker that is a promotional tool for the latest Chuck Palahniuk book, Rant (which, by the way, I am reading and enjoying and considering a return to form for one of my fave authors). I think it's cool looking. And it dropped through my letterbox just a few days ago, all the way from New York City.

But it got me thinking...

The folks at Doubleday books must know that if they offer this sort of thing to Chuck fans, many many of them will never see the light of day, surely? I mean, this ain't going on no car of mine. This will stay in a hardbacked envelope in a box, probably, along with all the other junk that I consider "collectible".

But what's even more mysterious in this case is the way in which this freebie was offered. I just had to go to the official Rant book website and click on the black widow spider. A message pops up telling you how to enter a competition. Okay... But to get the sticker, all that was required was to e-mail Doubleday and tell them what message came up when I clicked the spider -- i.e., tell them that a message came up informing users of a competition. Um, how odd is that?

Indeed, it's so odd that for a short time users on the forums at Chuck's official website seemed almost to consider it an urban myth. But it's true. And it worked.

So, do you like free stuff? What's your favourite free thing right now? Not gifts, though. That's a different ball game. And is there a weird tale behind it? Come now, don't be shy.