If your parents are anything like mine, they probably told you money doesn’t grow on trees more than a million times, when you were growing up. Well I can’t wait to show them how wrong they were all those years.

In an attempt to “wake up people’s lazy money”, RaboDirect, an Australian online bank sponsored a special experiment that fulfilled the financial fantasies of hundreds of passers-by – a real-life money tree. The event took place in one of Sydney’s park, where a tree was covered in $5 bills, from its lower branches to the top. People were secretly filmed, to see how they would react to such an unbelievable sight.

Believe it or not, the first 100 or so people who walked by the money tree flat out ignored it. Some of them didn’t even notice there was anything odd about the tree, a group of joggers was to busy running to stop and check it out, and passers-by who did stop to analyze it, just took some photos and left empty handed.

But as soon as a brave individual ceased the opportunity to fill his pockets, a crowd behavior ensued. Some just took one or two bills, from the lower branches, while others employed any means necessary ( like swinging their coats and using their umbrellas) to reach the higher branches. One of the most interesting observations was the altruism of the crowd, as some of the taller people shared their loot with the shorter ones.

The money tree experiment was inspired by Australia’s lazy money. According to statistics, Australians missed out on a total of $$.7 billion in interest, by leaving their deposits in account that paid small interests. RaboDirect wanted to see how people react when confronted with the opportunity to maximize their financial gains.