$1M bids pouring in for largest white truffle
The largest known white truffle has just been found. Not surprisingly, it's going up on the auction block -- and you won't believe how much people are willing to spend for it.
The truffle weighing approximately 4.16 pounds was found in Italy. It's nearly three times the size of this apple:
According to NBC, buyers in China have already contacted the company that found the truffle saying they're willing to spend $1 million to get a hold of it.
That's a lot of money for something that's an edible fungus. Michael Strahan from "Live with Kelly & Michael" couldn't believe it.
"A million bucks for a [truffle] - I'm gonna start digging in Italy and be all over that country," Strahan said on Friday's show.
To get an even better look at how humongous this truffle really is, CBS took us behind the scenes to show us the truffle's arrival in New York earlier this week.
"Once cleared, Federico Balestra, the company's CEO, gingerly unwrapped the delicacy," reporter Don Dahler said.
A lot of pomp and circumstance for a fungus -- and it's about double the weight of the previous truffle record-holder.
Guinness World Records reports that one was found back in 1999 in Croatia. It weighed 2 pounds 8 ounces.
BBC reports back in 2007, billionaire Stanley Ho paid $330,000 for a truffle reportedly weighing 3.3 pounds, making it the largest amount of money ever paid for a truffle at the time.
Sotheby's says since then, someone paid $417,200 in 2010 for a truffle about half the size of this newest truffle.
We don't even want to think about what it would cost to buy a dish containing this coveted truffle. Why the big price tag?
A writer for Time reports white truffles are only in season a few months out of the year. They're mostly found in Italy, and animals such as pigs and dogs are taught to search for them in the ground.
Bidding for the truffle at Saturday's auction is expected to start around $50,000. The company that found the truffle plans to donate the winning bid to various charities.
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