“A woman in my neighborhood has occasional book sales. The catch is this: all the books are free. I selected a singularly beaten-up paperback book called “The Mystic Path To Cosmic Power” by a guy named Vernon Howard.

Above the title, it says: THE BOOK THAT DARES TO REVEAL THE SECRET OF THE AGES! and underneath the title, it says: “Awaken the hidden occult power of your mind. Achieve a new life of riches, love, friends, and fantastic success’. Original price? $0.75.

As I was walking away with it, remarking on the unimaginable value such a book might hold, the woman said “Twice your money back if you’re not satisfied!” For a moment, I tried to imagine the value of twice no price at all…

Turns out the book actually has some useful perspectives and ideas in it, even if they are not particularly ‘occult’ (this was a book-sales buzzword around the time it was published). The adventure of acquiring it, and the seemingly absurd claims were definitely worth the nothing I paid for it.”

— an anonymous informant