sell your SKIVVIES

WALK INTO ANY laundry room on campus and you're bound to find them: crusty, stained underwear carelessly left behind during the transfers from bag to washer to dryer and back again. Though you may cringe at the sight of them, with a touch of commercial savvy these misplaced undies could be your ticket to financial success.

With thoughts of a jobless, impoverished, post-graduation future bearing down, one senior girl (who wishes to remain nameless) decided to test how far the Harvard name could take her. Last month, she put her used underwear up for sale on Ebay.com, a virtual auction Web site. Knowing that Ebay sales require creative marketing ploys, she coaxed potential buyers with "sexy, red-head, Harvard coed's panties being sold to the highest bidder." Offers came in from across the country. Although the senior earned $7 from the sale, she now believes--given the response she received--that she may have cut the bidding off too early.

Apparently, there is a huge market for worn underwear; in Japan they even appear in vending machines. And last Sunday, a pair of men's Hanes jockeys sold for $50, proving that there is definitely a market out there for used goods.

Even FM reporters have joined the underwear selling bandwagon. This past weekend, one posted an ad on Ebay for a pair of silk Victoria Secret panties. Already, there have been bidders. Yes, these bidders may be sick, but should that prevent this profitable enterprise? Imagine how much someone might pay for the panties of a NCAA Harvard hockey champ? Or a U.C. Bigwig? How much more for a bra-underwear set? The opportunities are endless. But please, no laundry room brawls--there are more than enough to go around.