The Office’s Garage Sale Episode Was Inspired By An Odd True Story About A Paper Clip – Looper

As discussed on Jenna Fischer’s (Pam Beesly) and Angela Kinsey’s (Angela Martin) “Office Ladies” podcast, Dwight’s mission was inspired by a Canadian blogger named Kyle McDonald, who was able to trade his single red paperclip up to a small house in Saskatchewan. McDonald’s journey was far stranger than Dwight’s, however, and saw him trading not just household objects, but experiences and jobs.

After a few months, his red paperclip had become an “instant party,” which was a neon beer sign, an empty keg, and a written promise to fill said keg with any beer of the recipient’s choice. Having made further trades to turn that “instant party” into a box truck, McDonald traded that truck for a recording contract with the studio Metalworks. Further trades included an afternoon with legendary rock star Alice Cooper and a speaking role in a feature film. Nearly a year after the start of his journey, McDonald avoided Dwight’s magic bean folly by finally trading his cinematic debut for a house (via the BBC and CBS News).

McDonald chronicled his journey on a blog titled “One Red Paperclip,” which he then adapted into a book. In 2015, he gave a TED Talk on the subject, which can be found on the TEDx YouTube channel.