The Real Reason This Chicken Nugget Costs Over $50k

McDonald's recently announced a team-up with K-Pop superstars BTS, during which the fast food chain will serve a combo meal handpicked by the members of the group. While some fans have expressed disappointment with the BTS and McDonald's collab, others have been excited to finally take a bite out of the meal that gives these performers their much-needed fuel. After all, if nuggets, fries, and a coke are good enough for BTS, then who can honestly complain? And who's to say that a particularly "sus" nugget can't fetch an insane amount of money on eBay?

That's exactly what eBay user polizna is hoping for, anyway. That's why they've put a BTS Meal chicken nugget up for auction that sort of resembles a Crewmate from the popular online social deduction game "Among Us." And it seems as though polizna's wacky plan is already paying off. On June 1, Polygon reported that the nugget was originally listed for a mere 99 cents, but that the bidding had already soared past $34,000. As of this writing, the bidding has skyrocketed to well over $50,000.

But what is the secret to this nugget's popularity? Is it the BTS connection? The faint "Among Us" resemblance? The fact that the seller has promised to throw in a packet of McDonald's elusive Szechuan Sauce, which saw a resurgence in popularity thanks to "Rick & Morty?" It seems like this auction is a perfect storm of the internet's niche interests.

As if being summoned by the siren song of absurdity, the denizens of the internet have been quick to respond to the "Among Us" BTS nugget auction. YouTuber Red Bard predicted that a content creator would end up being the person ultimately shelling out the big bucks for the nugget. One fan noted that they worked at a McDonald's and they had never seen a nugget shaped like that in their life, meaning that polizna's auction is for a rare find, indeed. Some fans have commented that they're hoping to find their own Crewmate-shaped nugget in their next BTS Meal.

Meanwhile, the official "Among Us" Twitter account expressed being both excited and baffled by the whole thing. The "Among Us" devs offered to split the cost of the nugget with McDonald's, then urged fans to buy the game's DLC so InnerSloth could purchase the coveted nugget.

The race for the sus nugget is on, and while it is still unclear who will end up taking it home, it could be argued that the real winners here have already emerged: fans of BTS, "Among Us," and internet oddities.