'Disaster Girl' meme NFT sells for $500,000 at auction
The trend of outrageous NFT auction sales continues with the sale of the "Disaster Girl" NFT, which went for over $500,000 in an auction hosted by Foundation.
Even if you're unaware of Disaster Girl's title, you've probably seen the image if you've been on the internet longer than 10 minutes. The photo features Zoë Roth, the then-four-year-old who looked deviously at her father's camera in front of a burning house.
As reported in the New York Times, firefighters intentionally set the fire and let children take turns with the fire hose — so it wasn't a real "disaster." Still, as an image is worth a thousand words, the internet ran with Disaster Girl and it's now a popular meme. "Discovered by internet connoisseurs," the NFT caption explains, "it rapidly spread to every corner of the world, becoming one of the most recognizable images of the 21st century."
The meme is so recognizable that the NFT, or non-fungible token, sold for 180 Ethereum, currently valued at over $500,000 USD, at a Foundation auction. The winner is a user named @3Fmusic, who's purchased many an NFT, which is basically a digital trading card, so far.
The Disaster Girl herself, Roth, is now a 21-year-old woman and a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She told the Times she'll use the crypto fortune for charity donations and to pay off her student loans.
Additionally, Roth takes her pseudo internet fame in stride, telling the Times she's thankful. "People who are in memes and go viral is one thing, but just the way the internet has held on to my picture and kept it viral, kept it relevant, is so crazy to me," she said. "I’m super grateful for the entire experience."
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Anna Iovine is the associate editor of features at Mashable. Previously, as the sex and relationships reporter, she covered topics ranging from dating apps to pelvic pain. Before Mashable, Anna was a social editor at VICE and freelanced for publications such as Slate and the Columbia Journalism Review. Follow her on Bluesky.
