In 2007, this famously maximalist Oscar winner outbid another actor at auction for a $276,000 dinosaur skull — then, years later, handed it back without a fight when it turned out to be stolen.
The full story
Nicolas Cage bought a Tarbosaurus bataar skull for $276,000 in 2007, outbidding Leonardo DiCaprio. When U.S. authorities determined it had been looted from Mongolia, he voluntarily returned it in 2015 — one of the more gracious endings in the history of celebrity impulse purchases.
The clues we handed out
— The skull — a Tarbosaurus — had been smuggled out of Mongolia; he voluntarily returned it in 2015.
— His collection has also included a private island, shrunken heads, and a nine-foot pyramid tomb he bought for himself in New Orleans.
— He once bought a comic that later sold for over $2 million: Superman's debut, Action Comics No. 1.
— He's a Coppola who changed his name so he'd earn roles on his own.
— Initials: N.C.
How this case played
ALLEGEDLY* edition No. 80. Three strikes to name Nicolas Cage, with a free clue
unlocked after every miss.
How players did
33 people have played this edition. 26 of them named Nicolas Cage — a 79% solve rate. Of those who got there: 6 on the lede alone, before a single clue, 2 after one clue, 18 after two.
The jury's verdict
Every case that closes goes to the jury. Players who finished this edition were asked:
Would you have done the same?
11 verdicts have been filed. 91% say they would have.
9% say they wouldn't. Close to unanimous.
*A blind item you can check. Every puzzle is drawn from the public record —
court records, official rulings, and moments that unfolded on live television — and the
records are linked above. Allegedly.
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