# Suppose a genie gave you the ability to produce 100 pounds of any 'stuff' every day forever -- **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 30, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492 "2026-09-30T17:17:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492/101 "2026-10-01T23:07:11Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > That ended the Passenger Pigeon more than hunting. Also, the bird apparently needed to be around millions of others in order to breed, which is why the Passenger Pigeons in captivity would generally not lay eggs. I did not know that. P. Pigeons need to be around millions of other birds before they can procreate? How does that work? Are all these pigeons together in on spot? If the flock size goes well below millions does the species go extinct? Weird and wild stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492/102 "2026-10-01T23:43:03Z")
Assuming the genie can deliver it anywhere, my first day’s request is 100 lb. of gold dumped on Trump’s head. Second day: Putin. After that, I start to enrich myself. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492/103 "2026-10-01T23:44:15Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Printer’s ink cartridges Hah! Just my first thought. 100 units of blood a day just isn’t enough to make a difference to a typical hospital that uses that much blood every few minutes. I’m concerned about the inflationary impact of a large amount of cash or even gold showing up regularly. It’s enough water and food to keep me safe as a hermit, building up my cache of gold and cash in a cabin in the woods, but that’s not a fun life. I could supply a classroom worth of laptops whenever I wanted, which might help out in some areas (assuming I can get them with fully paid up software licenses). I wonder how many days I could ask for “100 pounds of scrolls that were destroyed when the library of Alexandria was destroyed/100 pounds of books that were destroyed when the library of Louvain was sacked, etc.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492/104 "2026-10-01T23:52:00Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I did not know that. P. Pigeons need to be around millions of other birds before they can procreate? How does that work? Are all these pigeons together in on spot? If the flock size goes well below millions does the species go extinct? Well, they are not too sure about “millions” but lots and lots. Hundreds of thousands. In their flock. See, their survival technique was there being so many of them, that even if a few got eaten, there would be more. They were an interesting species. I gave a couple of links. > [@Andy\_L](#): > > I wonder how many days I could ask for “100 pounds of scrolls that were destroyed when the library of Alexandria was destroyed The Romans did it twice, but the legionnaires knew the rich folks back home would pay good money for those scrolls, so one thought is that many were looted not burned. But still- I like your idea. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492/105 "2026-10-02T09:39:09Z")
It’s not necessarily millions- I don’t think there’s any actual data on how small a colony would be viable, but yep, passenger pigeons only bred in huge flocks. Flamingos are the same, they synchronise breeding as basically a defence thing (so many babies predators can’t make much impact) and just don’t bother if there aren’t enough other birds around. There have been attempts to trick zoo birds into breeding by putting mirrors in enclosures, so they think there are more other birds around. Personally I reckon 100 years is peanuts in ecological scale and bringing back some passenger pigeons would be perfectly ethical. No-one ever seems to have the same concerns about building up numbers of an animal that’s been on the edge of extinction for decades, and that’s effectively the same thing from an ecology perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492/106 "2026-10-02T10:53:28Z")
100 pounds of gasoline is roughly 16 gallons. You could top up your tank(s) whenever you want. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492/107 "2026-10-02T17:30:29Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Poop. Wished into someone else’s colon. Who that would be depends on my mood. Lots of people can say somebody’s full of shit. But you’d be the one who could make it happen. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492/108 "2026-10-02T19:06:27Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > Personally I reckon 100 years is peanuts in ecological scale and bringing back some passenger pigeons would be perfectly ethical Well, maybe ethical, but since the colony would likely not survive, why not some of the many other bird species? Ivory Billed Woodpecker, which actually could still be extant (not likely). . Bachman’s Warbler (_Vermivora bachmanii_), several birds in Hawaii (take a vacation, release the birds), etc. None of those should cause issues. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492/109 "2026-10-02T21:16:33Z")
> [@PlaceboTarget](#): > > Any accident or condition rendering you (quasi)unconscious for longer than twenty-four hours will kill you. You’re a human and it will happen. Don’t take the deal. I’m nearly 68, and it hasn’t happened yet. 5 siblings, the only one it happened to died (pretty sure it wasn’t genie related). None of my grandparents, nor to my knowledge any of my numerous cousins. Assuming no fuckery by the genie, I think it’s a pretty good bet you aren’t dying from it. > [@Andy\_L](#): > > I wonder how many days I could ask for “100 pounds of scrolls that were destroyed when the library of Alexandria was destroyed/100 pounds of books that were destroyed when the library of Louvain was sacked, etc.” Make sure you include ‘unique’, or you’ll just end up with lots of copies of some obscure poet’s worst effort. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492/110 "2026-10-03T01:36:21Z")
Good advice ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492/111 "2026-10-03T02:30:44Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I think @ParallelLines had it right. You can “find” a hundred pounds of gold, or heck, 200 pounds, sell it openly, pay the taxes, and have a nice nest egg, which you could use to travel, pay a house cleaner, pay medical bills, pay the plumber, etc. The only problem could be if someone reports you to the tax authorities, and they are interested in investigating. There just aren’t hundreds of golds of gold lying around. > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > What is everybody going to spend all this cash and gold on? 90% of whatever you might want can just be wished for. A car? Rent? A house? Travel? I’d say most of what I want couldn’t be wished for. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492/112 "2026-10-03T03:08:06Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > There just aren’t hundreds of golds of gold lying around I just thought of an amusing thing: start a modern day gold rush. Wish for gold in naturally occurring forms (just not ore, too easy for big corporations to dominate almost immediately) to show up in your local area. Be the first to “find” it, stake a claim, make your initial bankroll off the gold, but then roll it over into selling stuff to independent miners. Add more gold every day, spread around so almost everyone hits a good gold claim. Sit back and take a percentage of everything that’s found. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492/113 "2026-10-03T03:17:53Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > There just aren’t hundreds of golds of gold lying around. hundreds of _pounds_ of gold ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492/114 "2026-10-03T04:11:49Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > There just aren’t hundreds of [pounds] of gold lying around. “Gee, [interested authority], Well, there were all these boxes of stuff I inherited from my ancestor when he died intestate. Me and the other heirs discussed over who got what, settled things eventually and I got all these boxes because nobody else wanted to go through them. It’s taken me years to get around to it, and wow, never knew he was a gold hoarder! I guess I should split this with the other heirs according to the law, pay whatever taxes are owed.” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492/115 "2026-10-04T20:19:51Z")
"I was digging a hole to bury my pet cat and found this really old box and it was full of gold coins. " You’d have to wish for the really old box, too. If you reported it and paid the taxes, i think there’s a decent chance you’d get away with it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suppose-a-genie-gave-you-the-ability-to-produce-100-pounds-of-any-stuff-every-day-forever/1033492.md?page=5)