A billionaire could finance some UFO-looking drones to swarm a town, then invest in the real estate and tourism in that town and profit.

bgonger@lemmy.world to Showerthoughts@lemmy.world – 111 points –

I was just thinking about how people still go to Roswell, NM to visit the alien museum and yet those UFO sighting events took place decades ago.

Imagine if new sightings took place frequently in some town. That would probably change the local economy of the town.

11

Put down the Scooby Snacks buddy.

Nah that'd scare all the locals away and then some teenagers and their dog would come and get you arrested, possibly harming you (with a makeshift device and/or accidental high-speed tackle*) in the process.

*=Most likely involving multiple people trapped inside a giant water jug and being propelled by a minecart, so you'll probably break a rib or two when they smash you into a wall and then get a concussion when a shelf breaks over your head, leaving you with amnesia but still responsible for the fines (+medical bills) and prison sentence because of a silly scheme and mild fraud/insider-trading that you obviously have no recollection of.

If I was an investor I would invest before bringing the UFOs

I would invest after the UFOs

With enough of them, property values will go down as people move away

Once it's identified as a hoax, the value will correct itself over time

[spoilers] "Fall, Or Dodge In Hell" by Neil Stephenson. Billionaire fakes a nuclear attack on Moab, Utah for shits and giggles. Decades later, many Americans refuse to believe that the town still exists.