[imagesource:here]

We have all seen the ‘Disaster Girl’ meme, which shows a little girl, looking a little too pleased with herself in front of a burning house.

I’ve seen enough horror movies to know what that face means.

In keeping with the natural progression of a meme, over the years her face has often been superimposed onto images of natural disasters and accidents adding to the fun factor.

It’s easy to forget that memes are of real people who just happened to be caught on camera in just the right way, at just the right time, to catch our attention.

In this case, the kid in the picture is Zoe Roth who was four years old when her father snapped the picture in 2005.

If you want the story behind the meme, have at it:

Although the picture has been shared by countless people over the decades, all Zoe got out of the deal was ‘fame’.

Now, at the age of 21, she’s cashing in.

She just sold the original image (below) behind the meme as a nonfungible token (NFT) for close to half a million dollars.

Image: Insider

Dang, I wish I was a meme…

After seeking advice from meme celebrities like “Overly Attached Girlfriend” Laina Morris and “Bad Luck Brian” Kyle Craven before hiring a manager and a lawyer to iron out the logistics, Roth listed the “Disaster Girl” token on April 16 for a 24-hour auction.

According to Insider, It became a much bigger deal than she expected.

Here’s her father, David Roth:

“I’m out there probably shouting expletives into the air,” Dave said. “Every time it would bump up, I just couldn’t believe it.”

Zoe Roth also had something to say:

“Being able to sell it just shows us that we do have some sort of control, some sort of agency in the whole process.”

A bidder by the name of ‘3FMusic’ won the auction and gave over 180 Ether for the image which amounted to $430 000 at the time of sale.

Roth apparently plans to split the proceeds with her family – rightfully so, since her father was technically the one who took the photo.

The NFT has also been coded so that Roth always retains the copyright. This means that she will get 10% of the sale every time the “Disaster Girl” NFT is re-sold.

Now she really has a reason to look pleased with herself.

[source:insider]