10 Things That Cost as Much as Freeing a Slave

I feel like I've heard phrases like "fair market value" and "mark to market" a lot these days, even outside of my old standby the NPR Planet Money podcast.  It's gotten me wondering what it costs to free a slave, and what else in the market costs the same these days.

First off, how much does freeing a slave cost?  The answers vary wildly depending on where in the world you are and what you use as the definition of "free."  For the sake of this exercise, let's use Free the Slaves' estimate of $135 to remove a person from slavery.

That may seem like a lot of money to most people (myself included), but here are ten other things which cost $135:

1. A book, specifically The Fundamental Equations of Quantum Mechanics, from Amazon.com
2. A six ounce tube of Strivectin anti-wrinkle cream
3. 54% of an iPhone, without the phone plan
4. A stainless steel chastity belt, on Ebay of course
5. 13 tubes of Might Putty (as seen on TV)
6. A bottle of Perrier-Jouet Fluer de Champagne 2000
7. Movie ticketsfor a family of four in London to see the new Pixar film, Up (not including popcorn).
8. Shipping and handling to ship a unicycle from unicyclist.com to Australia
9. A tenth of a 1974 Ford Pinto Station Wagon
10. The Richard Petty Driving Experience, at Daytona International Speedway

Ok, so the chastity belt is pretty weird.  But otherwise, there's nothing wrong with studying quantum mechanics or drinking champagne or riding a unicycle, though hopefully you don't attempt all three at the same time.  But it is amazing how these and the number of other $135 purchases we make seem trivial when compared to the freedom of a human being.