As reported by Alex Boese of The Museum of Hoaxes, December 4, 2007:
Sell my DNA
SellMyDna.com offers to help you sell a sample of your DNA to a research company, New Line Genetics, who will then obtain a patent for it. They pay $5000!
Better yet, you can even sell your friend’s DNA, because once a cell leaves their body, it no longer belongs to them. From their website:
SellMyDNA.com does not condone the patenting of other”™s DNA without their permission. However, what better way to surprise your loved ones for a birthday or holiday event than giving the gift of $5,000 and the knowledge that their genetic material is helping to enhance scientific research!
However SellMyDna.com is not a real company, as you can find out if you dig deep enough into it’s site and come across the disclaimer: “these sites are a satirical “what if” pertaining to something that, for all intents and purposes, could be a reality in the not-so-distant future.”
Wired’s science blog reports that SellMyDna.com was created by Anthony Martin, whose myspace profile states, “I am striving to make the world a better place and usher in the new era of human evolution with the use of accelerated genetics techniques.”