We live in times where poverty is increasing, and many find themselves struggling to pay the bills and make ends meet. This happened to Thorne Melcher and Mandy Musselwhite, who were about to lose their homestead outside Atlanta.
CNBC’s “Make It” recently made a report on the American couple in which they describe how the “bills started piling up” because “Thorne Melcher lost her job as a software engineer in February.” Mandy Musselwhite is an artist, and the couple could cover their expenses by selling her artwork for a short while, but unfortunately, that wasn’t enough.
The couple fell behind on their mortgage payments, becoming desperate for a solution. This is where the idea for “Dastardly Ducks” was born. They created of collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which included 10 000 unique duck designs. The ducks were generated with a code giving each a different set of characteristics based on a pool of 100 other traits.
The NFT collection was launched on the 19th of January, and then a miracle happened, “it sold out in less than six hours, earning them just under $120,000.”
The story of Thorne Melcher and Mandy Musselwhite is both exciting and frightening, depending on how you look at it. They reportedly had multiple bank accounts with either “less than $1” or even with “negative $4.11” on their name. They were so broke that putting food on the table and paying the bills was almost impossible.
Paying the smart contract, which is a fee, you must cover before launching your NFT collection, was also impossible for them. Thankfully, empathy is still a feature that many people have nowadays, and a friend of theirs “offered to cover the fee for Dastardly Ducks.”
If this doesn’t sound urgent enough, then keep in mind that “the couple owed $35,587 in mortgage back-payments” and were legally required to present a check to their lawyer by the 20th of January else they’d be sued and would have to appear in court by the 21st of January.
Receipt for the big payment 😳 the farm is OFFICIALLY SAVED!!! Thank you @DastardlyDucks community!!! @smolfarm is gonna grow and we’re gonna work hard! 🦆🦆🦆 pic.twitter.com/DMXrv3JuOV
— fumeiji(🦆,🦆) (@fumeiji) January 20, 2022
So, how did they manage to survive this horrible situation? Thorne Melcher and Mandy Musselwhite did what they did best. Melcher is a programmer and used her previous knowledge and abilities to learn Solidity, which is the most popular language for creating smart contracts on Ethereum. Musselwhite, a graphic artist, went through sleepless nights to design each Dastardly Duck.
In the beginning, “each Dastardly Duck cost about $15, and a 12-pack cost about $120,” which was a savvy move that allowed many people to buy at least one NFT.
This wonderful NFT collection not only saved their home and lifted them out of their horrible financial situation but offered them future employment opportunities. Melcher says that “I have so many people that suddenly want to work with me is a Solidity coder. There are people who are interested in working with Mandy Musselwhite] as an artist “.
Dastardly, Ducks are not just a one-time miracle but a unique collection that you can get involved with as well. They are currently available in the following two marketplaces: Open Sea and Looks Rare.
