Going, going, gone... a load of snow

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2006

BERLIN (AFP) — A German village in the grip of winter raised thousands of euros for cancer charities by auctioning off a load of pristine snow on the Internet.

The mayor of Steinach, home to 4,700 people in the former communist east, stumbled upon the idea one night.

"It was completely by chance, like so much in life. But it was worth its weight in gold," Maria Greiner said.

She placed an advertisment on the eBay Germany site, that read: "Snow, impeccably white, soft, without any signs of use, fresh from the heavens and as much as you want."

Bidding was brisk, with a mail order clothes company in Frankfurt making the top bid of 1,420 euros (1,700 dollars) and smaller bidders securing smaller lots as hundreds of residents gathered in the village...