German authorities have returned an infant to its parents after a joke went afoul about selling the baby boy on eBay for $1. The twenty-something parents' admission halted a days-long probe into potential baby trafficking. In a May 24 auction that was online less than three hours, a writer advertised the baby was for sale because it "has gotten too loud. " Internet auction giant eBay quickly removed the ad.

Abuse of government-issued credit card privileges made the headlines in the U. S. and Canada this week. A few days after the U. S. General Accountability Office reported widespread charging of unauthorized items among federal employees, a Canadian bureaucrat made news by charging $230,000 to her state-issued credit card to buy souvenir coins which she deposited in her personal bank account. Veronica Topic, 24, later withdrew the money, purchased electronic gadgets and auctioned it on eBay. The Canada Border Services Agency employee even had the gumption to have the laptops, Palm Pilots and other gizmos delivered to her office, which caused raised eyebrows among her officemates.

Days after obtaining an Illinois-shaped cornflake from an Internet auction, a man announced that he will be taking the prized item on the road to be part of his traveling road show. After paying $1,350 for the flake, Jon Wolf, the curator of triviamania. com, is planning to include the flake to his exhibit of American oddities.

An Australian man announced online that he was putting his entire life up for sale, auctioning it to the highest bidder. According to 44-year-old Ian Usher, the winning bidder will get his home, his car, all his material possessions, and even his job. Usher explained that with regards to the job, the winner would be given a two-week trial employment at a rug shop in Perth, Western Australia.

A pretzel resembling the Virgin Mary was posted on the online auction site eBay, and bids for the item have surpassed the $1 million mark. The pretzel, posted on the website by owner Michael Fleming, had received a bid of $10,950 Thursday afternoon, and was later on followed by a questionable $1. 1 million by a first-time bidder.