The vast majority of people live rather mundane lives, rarely sparked with magic or wonder, until a person like Angeles Duran comes along and claims something new as her own…Well, alright, perhaps something that’s estimated to be billions of years old isn’t all that new.
Angeles Duran now owns the sun.
She isn’t the first to lay claim to objects that no one else would think anyone could own.
Onerous ownership claims
Back in the late 19th Century, James Addison Reavis claimed he owned most of what was then the Arizona Territory. He later become known as “The Baron of Arizona.” [1]
After years of jokes about selling the Brooklyn Bridge, a man actually did…legally! Paul Hartunian saw an opportunity when he grabbed the chance to sell off the world-famous bridge in pieces…at $14,95 a chunk. [2]
Barry McArdle is the man who sold the Moon. He lay claim to the Moon via documents he filed with the United Nations. Under treaties, all nations agreed no country could own the Moon, but they forgot to include individuals in that ban. So, being the bold entrepreneur that he is, McArdle lay claim to Luna and merrily proceeded to sell acre lots. [3]
Not quite as audacious, but still enterprising, International Star Registry identified millions of stars and offers to name one after anyone willing to pay their fee. An impressive certificate is issued along with the co-ordinates of the star. [4]
Unfortunately, no one will likely ever see the star named after them, every star can only be seen with powerful telescopes.
A sunny disposition
Now a Spanish woman has laid claim to the sun…
Angeles Duran [Photo], 49, who is said to have a sunny disposition and resides in the sunny town of Salvaterra do Mino, spoke with a bright reporter from Spain’s daily newspaper, El Mundo (sadly it translates as “The World,” not “The Sun”). The paper published the story on their Web version.
She explained to the curious journalist that after hearing about an American man who claimed the Moon as his own (McArdle), she decided to become the sole owner of the sun.
Like McArdle, she argued that the international agreements affecting the ownership of celestial objects doesn’t apply to individuals.
“There was no snag, I backed my claim legally, I am not stupid, I know the law,” Duran asserted. “I did it but anyone else could have done it, it simply occurred to me first.”
Acording to El Mundo, a notary public issued an official document stating that Duran had become the sole owner of the sun. It described “Sol” (the sun’s proper name) as “a star of spectral type G2, located in the center of the solar system, located at an average distance from Earth of about 149,600,000 kilometers.”
Follow the money
The woman has developed a plan to save Spain’s economy while draining the rest of the world: she intends to tax everyone on the planet for the use of the sun. She’s earmarking half the revenue for the Spanish government and 20 percent of the remaining half for the nation’s version of Social Security.
“It is time to start doing things the right way,” Duran argued, pointing at the sky. At that moment a cloud blocked the view of her newly acquired piece of property. “If there is an idea for how to generate income and improve the economy and people’s well being, why not do it?”
Links
[1] James Reavis, The Baron of Arizona
[2] Paul Hartunian, the man who sold the Brooklyn Bridge
[3] Barry McArdle, the man who sold the moon
[4] International Star Registry
