Mysterious website charges 99 cents to see who else has paid 99 cents

Thinko

• There’s a new website called whopaid99cents.com that
  will show you everyone else who paid 99 cents — after you pay
  99 cents. 
• Every time you want to see an updated list of who paid
  99 cents, you have to pay 99 cents again. 
• That’s all the website does, and it seems to be made by
  a computer entertainment studio called Thinko. 
• The Thinko team mostly made the website for a quick
  laugh, but people are actually paying. 

In today’s internet culture, we want to know things right away.
We want to click on something and immediately be greeted with we
want to see. We don’t want to pay for that information and some
of us go to great lengths to avoid just that — by installing ad
blockers or using multiple free trials to keep reading free news
articles. 

So why did I just pay 99 cents on a website called whopaid99cents.com, which only
shows me who else paid 99 cents to see who else paid 99 cents? My
initial thoughts were “no way, this could be anybody, and they’re
asking for my credit card info.” 

But then the curiosity kicked in, and I paid 99 cents. So did 43
other people before me, apparently. 

Thinko

The website doesn’t explain much. When you open it, you’re
greeted with a simple header asking “Who paid 99¢?” and some text
boxes to put your personal information, like your name and credit
card information. Beneath that, the very fine print states
“Your name will be public. Obviously. That’s the point.
Just use a fake one if you want,” and “Your
receipt will be emailed to you.” In even smaller print below the
fine print, the website says, “All sales are final. Please don’t
sue us.”

Once I paid the 99 cents, I received the instant
gratification that we expect now on the internet. Finally, I
could see who else paid 99 cents.

I admittedly didn’t learn much. 43 people had paid 99 cents
before I did, and many of them appeared to be using fake names. A
few of them plugged their SoundCloud profiles. One name simply
read “9/11 was an inside job.” Another person claimed to be HQ
Trivia. 

Here’s the kick: If you’re dying to see how the list has
grown, you have to pay 99 cents again. Every time you want to see
an updated list, you have to pay an additional 99
cents. 

At the very bottom of the page, there’s a “Made by Thinko”
icon that takes you to the website thinko.com. Thinko is a computer
entertainment studio based in Brooklyn, New York, and it appears
to be behind this mysterious website. 

“We like making computers do funny things,” said Pasquale D’Silva, a Thinko
partner who was reached for comment by Business Insider.
“Computers have been used to do boring things
forever.” 
When asked the simple question,
‘Why?’ D’Silva explained that “We pretty much build anything
that makes us laugh at Thinko.”

As for why anyone would pay 99 cents to see who else had done the
same, D’Silva said he wasn’t sure who would actually
do it, but it’s something simple that makes people
laugh.