Harambe the gorilla was slain at the Cincinnati Zoo last year, during a controversial incident, but his spirit lives on in a seemingly endless number of Internet memes and jokes. A recent eBay auction of a single Flamin’ Hot Cheeto shaped like the famous silverback gorilla proves that Harambe is still as popular as ever.
On January 28, eBay user valuestampsinc listed a Flamin’ Hot Cheeto that resembled an orange, puffy version of Harambe, setting the minimum bid at a decent $11.99. The listing included a photo of the unique Cheeto alongside a photo of the real Harambe climbing a tree, and the resemblance was clearly close enough to justify the asking price. However, after the listing went viral on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, the bidding got out of control, and by February 7, at 3:45 am, when the bidding was scheduled to end, the Harambe-shaped Cheeto had been acquired for a whopping $99,900. eBay has confirmed that the item was valid and available for purchase, but has not commented on whether payment has been made.
“I opened up a bag of Flamin Hot Cheetos and as soon as I looked inside I came across this unique Cheetos that looks like Harambe the gorilla. It measures up to about 1 1/2 inches in length.
” the item description read. “This makes a great collectible for anyone who appreciates rare items!”
The seller also clarified that whoever won the bid would receive just the Harambe-shaped Cheeto, not the whole bag.
If this bid turns out to be genuine, this would have to be the single most expensive Cheeto cheese puff in history. That’s seriously unlikely, though, as trolls are notorious for inflating bids on rare and collectible items, making outrageous offers without ever paying for the product. The only penalty for not honoring a bid is apparently a strike against their eBay account.