6 ms·

Is it legal to run a "contest" in which you know ahead of time that no one will win the prize?

• mcpackieh 3y ago
  Why not? James Randi did.
• MattGaiser 3y ago
  The prize can be won. It is not proven impossible for extraterrestrials to exist.
  • Thorrez 3y ago
    We don't know whether it can be won or not.
    • mcpackieh 3y ago
      There have been some very significant prizes for achievements of unknown feasibility that turned out well. For instance the Longitude Act for a method of precisely determining a ship's longitude lead to the development of very precise marine chronometers. (Granted, there was a bit of difficulty collecting the prize.)
      • Thorrez 3y ago
        Interesting, I submitted the link to HN because of that: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37787123 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37787123