Everyone loves a great giveaway! But sometimes, what you win defies all logic. Beyond the typical tech and cash, the world of competitions has a strange underbelly where the prizes are less about luxury and more about sheer bewilderment. From the bizarre and substantial to the downright unusable, here’s a look at the most unusual prize giveaways ever.
Priceless Wins for Peanuts
Some wins are so huge they defy the tiny amount of money it took to get them.
High-Stakes Wins: When Luck Strikes
Archie Karas’s name is synonymous with one of the most dramatic and unprecedented runs in the history of gambling. His story began in the early 1990s when he arrived in Las Vegas with just $50. Through a combination of high-stakes poker and daring pool games, Karas managed to parlay that initial stake into an astounding fortune of approximately $40 million over a span of three years.
While most of us won’t replicate Karas’ once-in-a-lifetime hot streak, people still chase the thrill of an unexpected win in smaller, safer ways. That’s why competitions like raffles, giveaways, or modern “mystery box” draws remain. Sites like bestcompetitions.com curate the most exciting prize competitions, including mystery box options where you never quite know what you’ll get until you’ve won. It’s a reminder that sometimes the fun lies in the unpredictability, rather than the size of the jackpot.
An Island Resort for $129
A full island resort was one of the most extravagant rewards ever given out. Josh Ptasznyk, who was 26 at the time, won the Kosrae Nautilus Resort in 2016. It had 16 rooms, a pool, and ocean views. He got it all for just $129. The former owners gave the title to someone who would respect and take care of the home. Property taxes, hiring people, and repairs can be overwhelming, but hey, living on an island for free, right?
Living, Breathing Prizes
Some prizes come with a heartbeat, requiring more care and feeding than a simple trophy case.
A Pig Named After Your Book
Writers, this might be the best prize ever. The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize not only provides winners with good champagne and literary prizes, but also a Gloucestershire Old Spot pig named after their winning book. Yes, your book’s title might live on as a pig.
A Tribe of Goats
Game shows enjoy drama. For example, Let’s Make a Deal once gave a tribe of goats as a “zonk” behind one of their mystery doors. Contestants had to choose swiftly, which might mean a vacation to Cornwall or a barnyard full of people.
Cows Named After You
The Swiss Open organizers once gave tennis great Roger Federer a cow as a reward. He named it “Juliette” at first, and then “Desiree” when he got another one years later. Not all trophies are silver; some are moo-ers.
Edible Eccentricities
For those who prefer their prizes to be consumable, but not necessarily conventional.
Your Weight in Beer
Winners of the British wife-carrying championship occasionally get beer that weighs the same as the two of them. You could win kegs if you bring a partner (or spouse) and carry them up and down hills. It’s not exactly a record-breaking food challenge, but they are definitely liquid investments.
A Chocolate Statue of Your Own Head
One Reese’s Halloween contest let people become candy. The winners got money and a chocolate bust of their head and shoulders filled with peanut butter (albeit it wasn’t guaranteed to be an exact likeness). Winning money is one thing; thinking about eating your own likeness is another.
Pickle Juice (And More Liquid Rewards)
The 2024 Euro fever led to a contest where the winners earned cases of pickle juice. It may sound unusual, but supporters say it might help with muscle cramps. It might not be a huge award, but it’s something to remember.
Bacon-Scented Candle (That Never Arrived)
This one is more of an oddity. A contestant won a candle that smelled like bacon in a contest on the MoneySavingExpert forum. The problem? They never got it. The thought of a candle that fills your home with sizzling bacon is crazy enough, but the fact that it never made it to the winner makes it even more hilarious.
Trophies of Questionable Use
Prizes that make you wonder, “What am I supposed to do with this?”
A Treadmill for Someone Without Feet
The Price Is Right may have had one of the most embarrassing moments in prize history. Danielle Perez, a contestant who uses a wheelchair, won a treadmill. She handled it with grace, but the difference between the reward and what it could be used for quickly became well-known.
Grandfather Clocks for NASCAR Wins
Instead of regular trophies, NASCAR’s Martinsville Speedway gives champions grandfather clocks. Over the course of his career, Richard Petty won 12 of them. It chimes every fifteen minutes, so your win echoes.
Marble Pencil
One of the weird prizes in Crackerjack’s quiz-based “Double or Drop” rounds was a marble-propelling pencil. It was more of a symbol than a useful item, and victors loved the strange keepsake. The pencil became so popular that Queen Elizabeth II got a set to give to her kids in 1961.
Prestige in Absurdity
You’d think that owning the most expensive item in the world is something to boast about, but these prizes are more about the bizarre honor they confer.
The Turnip Prize (Anti-Art Contest)
You know it’s weird when a contest gives you a turnip pinned to a board for not trying hard enough. The Turnip Prize, which launched in the UK in 1999, gives money to people who make lousy art on purpose or are too lazy to do their work well. If you strive too hard, your entry will be invalidated. The “prize”? Of course, a turnip.
Ig Nobel Prize: The Weird Science Award
The Ig Nobel Prize is a joke prize that goes to research that makes people laugh and then ponder. Laureates get a small sum of money (like a single banknote in a currency that is worth more than it is) and the privilege to give a talk at MIT. It’s not a commercial gift, but it’s a “prize” that honors the silliness of science.
Worm Charming, Bee-Wearing, And Extreme Ironing
Some contests give prizes to people who are really good at particular, specific skills. The Worm Charming Championship gives players 30 minutes to get worms out of the ground. There is a bee-wearing contest in China where people use the perfume of a queen bee to draw live bees to their bodies. And what about extreme ironing? People iron shirts in the most ridiculous places, like cliffs, underwater, and trees.
Conclusion
Here’s the curious truth about winning: While we all dream of the life-changing jackpot, it’s often these strange and even impractical prizes that are the most memorable. So, the next time you enter a competition, perhaps ask yourself not just what you hope to win, but what kind of story you’d like to tell.