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In 1990 when I was finishing school I bet with my classmate that there would be a permanent Moon base in 2010. As the result my much more practical buddy got 15

In 1990 when I was finishing school I bet with my classmate that there would be a permanent Moon base in 2010. As the result my much more practical buddy got 1500$ from his investment into sceptictical thinking.

tzs 8y ago
Did the bet specify that it would be a human base? If not, and if $1500 is enough to be worth having your school buddy think you have become an idiot or dishonorable, maybe you could have tried to argue that the secret alien outpost [1] on the far side counts and demand that your buddy pay you. I assume your friend would reject that, but unless the bet specified a procedure to use in the case that the participants could not agree on the outcome, it might have been enough to void the bet at least. Also, was the bet in writing and signed? If not, and if you are in a jurisdiction that has something like the Statue of Frauds [2], you might try to argue the bet is invalid because the Statue requires contracts that cannot be performed within one year (other than indefinite contracts) be in writing and signed. The 2010 end date on the contract arguably makes it not of indefinite duration. The "cannot be performed within one year" is harder. It doesn't mean that it has to be performed within a year--just that it is possible. For example, if I make a contract with you that says I'll pay you $1000 if in the next three years your bicycle is stolen and not recovered within two weeks. Because it is possible that your bike could be stolen in the next year, this contract can be performed in one year. It doesn't matter that it might not be. Would it be possible in 1990 for a permanent Moon base to be deployed within one year? It may have been physically possible, but it was certainly politically and economically impossible. For Statute of Fraud purposes, is it good enough that it could happen even if it would require worldwide cooperation on an unprecedented scale? Or does it have to have a non-negligible chance of actually happening? [1] https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/601628/Dark-Side-of-the-Moon-aliens-secret-Earth-space-spaceship https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/601628/Dark-Sid... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_frauds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_frauds
- pvg 8y ago
  if you are in a jurisdiction that has something like the Statue of Frauds [2], you might try to argue the bet is invalid At that point, you might just try more direct means of not having any friends and save yourself the hassle.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- astrodust 8y ago
  The Daily Star is not the sort of thing you'd use to resolve a bet on anything.
bdamm 8y ago
Meanwhile, the $1000 bet I made with my college buddy that cancer would (not) be cured by 2022 is still very much up in the air.
- pmiller2 8y ago
  I wouldn’t go that far, unless you and your buddy are both mice. Even if a cure for all cancers were discovered tomorrow, you’d have to progress from testing in Petri dishes (maybe), to mice, to safety trials in people, to double blind controlled studies in people, to regulatory approval, to clinical practice, all in under 4 years. If I were your buddy betting on the cure, I would offer to settle for $500 today.

tzs 8y ago

Did the bet specify that it would be a human base? If not, and if $1500 is enough to be worth having your school buddy think you have become an idiot or dishonorable, maybe you could have tried to argue that the secret alien outpost [1] on the far side counts and demand that your buddy pay you. I assume your friend would reject that, but unless the bet specified a procedure to use in the case that the participants could not agree on the outcome, it might have been enough to void the bet at least. Also, was the bet in writing and signed? If not, and if you are in a jurisdiction that has something like the Statue of Frauds [2], you might try to argue the bet is invalid because the Statue requires contracts that cannot be performed within one year (other than indefinite contracts) be in writing and signed. The 2010 end date on the contract arguably makes it not of indefinite duration. The "cannot be performed within one year" is harder. It doesn't mean that it has to be performed within a year--just that it is possible. For example, if I make a contract with you that says I'll pay you $1000 if in the next three years your bicycle is stolen and not recovered within two weeks. Because it is possible that your bike could be stolen in the next year, this contract can be performed in one year. It doesn't matter that it might not be. Would it be possible in 1990 for a permanent Moon base to be deployed within one year? It may have been physically possible, but it was certainly politically and economically impossible. For Statute of Fraud purposes, is it good enough that it could happen even if it would require worldwide cooperation on an unprecedented scale? Or does it have to have a non-negligible chance of actually happening? [1] https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/601628/Dark-Side-of-the-Moon-aliens-secret-Earth-space-spaceship https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/601628/Dark-Sid... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_frauds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_frauds

pvg 8y ago
if you are in a jurisdiction that has something like the Statue of Frauds [2], you might try to argue the bet is invalid At that point, you might just try more direct means of not having any friends and save yourself the hassle.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
astrodust 8y ago
The Daily Star is not the sort of thing you'd use to resolve a bet on anything.

bdamm 8y ago

Meanwhile, the $1000 bet I made with my college buddy that cancer would (not) be cured by 2022 is still very much up in the air.

pmiller2 8y ago
I wouldn’t go that far, unless you and your buddy are both mice. Even if a cure for all cancers were discovered tomorrow, you’d have to progress from testing in Petri dishes (maybe), to mice, to safety trials in people, to double blind controlled studies in people, to regulatory approval, to clinical practice, all in under 4 years. If I were your buddy betting on the cure, I would offer to settle for $500 today.