FOR SALE -- ACRES OF PET ROCKS

Don’t give up on your harebrained schemes to make some easy cash just yet. Take your inspiration from Dennis Hope, the man who started selling acres of moon land in 1967 and has raked in over $9 million so far. Despite the fact that nations are prohibited from owning land on the moon by the United Nations Outer Space Treaty, Hope insists that nothing in the treaty excempts individuals from owning the moon. “It was unowned land,” he says. “For private property claims, 197 countries at one time or another had a basis by which private citizens could make claims on land and not make payment. There are no standardized rules.” According to Hope, his empire includes 95 different planetary bodies and seven trillion acres of land with a total worth of about $100 trillion. Despite his vast imaginary wealth, Hope’s claims aren’t likely to be legally recognized. “The moon is a common property of the international community, so individuals and states cannot own it. That’s very clear in the U.N. treaty,” says Ram Jakhu, a director of the International Institute for Space Law. “Individuals’ rights cannot prevail over the rights and obligations of a state... No one owns the moon. No one can own any property in outer space.” Nevertheless, you can go buy your acre of moon land for $19.95 at PlanetaryInvestments.com.