The Most Bizarre Moments In Pawn Stars History
Pawn Stars has had plenty of memorable moments since it first started airing on the History Channel in 2009. From irate customers to in-store pranks, the guys at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas have seen and done it all. Things can get downright bizarre, at times — but what do you expect from a pawn shop that's open 24 hours in Sin City?
No matter what the situation, though, owner Rick, his son Big Hoss, family friend Chumlee and the late patriarch simply known as the Old Man always keep their cool — and sometimes, even a straight face. Their composure is itself a skill, carefully honed over the course of years. But once in a while, an item so odd, a customer so strange, or an query so unexpected crosses their threshold that even they end up slack-jawed in surprise. Here are some of the most bizarre moments in Pawn Stars history.
A giant, golden Richard Nixon head
It takes two people to carry this giant, gold-painted foam Richard Nixon head into the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. When it's plunked down in front of Rick, he just laughs. What in the world would anyone do with such a thing?
To answer that, the owner puts it on, turning himself into a human bobblehead, complete with a big, bulbous nose. Definitely funny, but Rick still isn't convinced it's worth buying. And he just lets out a hearty laugh when the guy says he's hoping to get $2,500 for it. "No one is going to buy a Dick head!" Rick jokes.
Indeed, Nixon has been a running joke since resigning from the U.S. presidency in 1974 amid the Watergate scandal. But the item's owner explains that since he's owned it, plenty of people have taken photos with the foam head while making Nixon's famous V-for-victory sign with their hands. It could be great for the pawn shop window, he argues. But Rick isn't sold, and neither is the foam head.
Western novelty dummies
A guy walks into a pawn shop carrying two life-size dummies dressed in Western wear. No, this is not the beginning of a bad joke. It's something that really happened on Pawn Stars.
While Chumlee is obviously bewildered, the Old Man is rather intrigued by the enormous, borderline-creepy dolls. These particular dummies are hand-painted with movable joints and various heads to choose from. They're just life-like enough that the owner has sat them in his car to keep people from breaking in. That's right: They're not just terrifying decorations, they're effective crime deterrents!
While the owner paid $1,000 each, the Old Man firmly offers him $500 for the pair. The man says he needs a moment, taking one last look at the dummies before agreeing to the offer. They're quickly hauled off to the back of the shop and posed. When Rick gets a look at them, he immediately assumes Chumlee made this "stupid" purchase. When the Old Man admits that he bought them, Rick is stunned. And he's even more surprised that his father has named the dummies. Apparently Ed and George will be sticking around for a while, whether Rick likes it or not.
Chumlee gets into wine-making
After Rick and the Old Man buy an old-school wine-making machine, Chumlee decides he wants to make his own "Two-buck Chum" brand wine. So he fills a trash bag up with grapes and starts stomping. Though he was afraid it would be a disgusting process, he finds he actually kind of likes it.
Things become more complicated, however, when he attempts to transfer the pulverized grapes into a giant wine jug. Much of the chunky concoction ends up on the floor, and the color isn't quite right — so Chumlee adds some store-bought wine to make it look better. He sets it aside for three months so that it can ferment.
When the time comes, he lugs the jug into the back room to present the other guys with his homemade "Pawn Stars pinot." He wants them all to try it, but they're skeptical, especially when he pours a glass and it comes of suspiciously murky. But Rick feels obligated to try it because Chumlee tried so hard. After clinking glasses, the verdict is split. Rick and Big Hoss think it's "disgusting" while Chum and the Old Man think it's not so bad. In fact, the Old Man offers to drink Rick's glass too. Bottoms up!
Flavor Flav's O.J. Simpson statue
It's weird enough when Public Enemy's Flavor Flav walks through the Pawn Stars door. But what he's looking to sell is even more bizarre: A bronze statue of O.J. Simpson he thinks is worth $125,000.
While Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in a highly publicized 1994 jury trial, he lost a civil lawsuit that awarded the victims' families millions of dollars. To get the money, Simpson's estate was liquidated and many of his possessions were auctioned off, including the statue that used to sit poolside at his Los Angeles home. Flav acquired it from a radio DJ and took it on tour.
After making proper introductions between the statue and Chumlee, the guys get down to business. But business isn't good for Flav. Chum can only offer him $80,000 for the statue, to which Flav scoffs. The rapper thinks Simpson's name has "value" and the statue is actually worth way more than $125,000. Chum politely disagrees, and Flav ends up leaving with the statue, unsold.
A costly can of elephant manure
Here's a deal that really stinks. A seller comes into the pawn shop carrying a specialized case. Okay, you might be thinking, it's a rare gemstone, or perhaps a delicate piece of machinery. Nope: The case contains a can of Zoo Doo, which is "guaranteed genuine rotted elephant manure." Yes, he's literally trying to sell a load of crap.
This product was sold by the Washington Park Zoo in Portland, Oregon, to raise money to protect endangered species. It is labeled as "nature's most potent fertilizer," and it very well might be — the Washington Park Zoo isn't the only one selling its manure, implying a robust clientele. The owner thinks this novelty item is "priceless" because it's so rare, but he's willing to part with it for $10,000 — although he admits out of earshot of the Pawn Stars gang that he'd settle for $5.
The Old Man thinks it's a ridiculous thing to buy, but Chumlee thinks the old-school packaging and jokey novelty factor is cool. So leave it to Chum to shell out $20 of his own money for crap in a can.
Vintage tonsil guillotines
These days, having your tonsils removed is pretty routine and safe. But in the 1800s it was still a rather crude procedure. Hence the very scary-looking tonsil remover that ended up on Pawn Stars, brought in by a doctor who was way too excited to explain how it worked.
Called a tonsillotome, the tool is basically a small guillotine that goes down the throat and snips off the tonsils. But the owner doesn't just stop there. She giddily goes into great detail about how the two sharp prongs would "fork" the tonsils to hold them in place before slicing them off. The more she explains, the more squeamish Big Hoss gets.
He says that while he's "horrified" about how the tool was used and thinks it's "gross," he still has to have it because it's part of medical history and people — especially doctors — pay good money for things like that. She asks for $1,100, and after some back and forth, they agree on $800. Now, off with their tonsils!
Chumlee makes ice cream with a John Deere motor
We all scream for ice cream, right? Rick certainly does when a homemade ice cream maker utilizing a John Deere motor comes through the pawn shop — he ends up paying $2,000 for it. Later, Rick catches Chumlee messing with the machine and wonders what he's doing. Chum says he wants to make everyone ice cream. Rick thinks that's a really nice gesture and hands him some money so he can make enough for everyone. What could possibly go wrong?
Cut to the Old Man enjoying an ice cream cone. Rick is impressed Chum actually made the tasty treat with the contraption he bought, and the Old Man admits it's good ... for $2. Say what now? Yup, Chum is charging for his homemade ice cream. He even set up a table outside the pawn shop to make a little money.
Rick is angered, and storms outside to see a line forming. It looks like he's going to shut the whole thing down until the shop's own security guard begs him not to: "I've been in line for 20 minutes!" So Rick declares that everyone waiting gets free ice cream. Now that's a sweet ending.
Terrifying taxidermy
The Gold & Silver Pawn Shop is open 24 hours a day, and some truly bizarre things come in during the night shift. It's one of the reasons Big Hoss dreads working those hours. So when a woman walks in one night with a few not-so-cuddly stuffed animals, he's not exactly surprised — but he is plenty creeped out.
There's a stuffed turkey, a red hartebeest, and a crazily pieced together concoction that involves an upside down deer's butt, a bobcat's face, and a dog-like nose. It looks like something from a horror movie, and the woman is a little too interested in discussing exactly how she created the patchwork nightmare.
While her Franken-creature freaks Big Hoss out, he also finds it fascinating. He passes on the other two stuffed animals, but offers her $150 for the outrageous animal she created. He then immediately brings it out back to freak everyone out.
Man walks away from $50,000 cash
This bizarre Pawn Stars moment isn't so much about an item but about its seller: A man who gets his asking price, then turns his back on it.
The owner comes in asking $50,000 for a Gibson guitar. But not just any Gibson: This one is the first-ever Master Museum SJ-200. When he carefully takes it out of the case he calls it a "perfect" art piece that's the "best-sounding guitar you'll ever play." When an expert is called in to check it out, he says it's the "Presidential Rolex" of guitars that usually only winds up in a rock star's hands. It's definitely worth the asking price.
Big Hoss tries to haggle with the guy, who won't budge from his $50,000 demand. But the Pawn Stars pro eventually wears him down to $48,000. After a hesitant handshake the guy goes to pick up his money but says he's having second thoughts. Trying to keep him in the game, Hoss lays out $48,000 in hundred dollar bills in front of him. When the guy still drags his feet, Hoss offers him another two grand, taking him up to his original asking price. But the seller just can't do it, and in the end, he walks out with the guitar, leaving a disappointed Hoss and a giant pile of cash behind.
Chumlee's Secret Santa switcheroo
Chumlee comes into work dressed as Santa during the holiday season, handing out names from his hat for the company party he's organizing. This particular year, the party will include a Secret Santa swap, where you have to give a gift to the person you pulled out of the hat. Chum insists on a strict rule of secrecy when it comes to who each person got in the gift swap.
But Big Hoss immediately turns around and asks Rick and the Old Man who they got, and they both say Chumlee — which is funny because Big Hoss also got him! They immediately know what Chum has done and come up with their own plan to buy each other gifts.
When the holiday party rolls around and the Secret Santa gets underway, Chumlee is surprised when the first gift he picks up is for Rick. When Chum acts confused, the Old Man explains that they figured out Chum's little game of trying to get the most gifts. His punishment is that he's left without a present, but he does get a pat on the back from Rick for throwing a good party.
O.J. Simpson's infamous white Ford Bronco
Everyone of a certain age remembers where they were when football legend-turned-accused murderer O.J. Simpson led police on a low-speed car chase down a Los Angeles freeway in 1994. So when the white Ford Bronco that he was a passenger in during that chase pulls into the pawn shop parking lot, Rick is very intrigued and jumps at the chance to give it a test ride.
Although Simpson never owned the Bronco, it's indeed the one that an estimated 95 million people watched him try to evade police in. The seller, who was Simpson's agent at the time, acquired it from the previous owner, saving it from almost being sold to a macabre tour company that wanted to drive it up and down the freeway and past the murder site.
When the seller asks for $1.3 million, Rick says he can't assess whether that's a fair price because it's such an unusual one-of-a-kind item. He also points out that while it's "massively iconic," it also has "bad stuff" associated with it. While Rick thinks someone might pay that price at auction, he passes because it's too much of a gamble.
Chumlee appears on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
When Chumlee gets what he thinks is a prank call from someone claiming to work on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, he's about to hang up when Rick steps in. Turns out it's really the game show and they want the Pawn Stars guys on it for a charity event. Big Hoss is immediately worried about Chum answering any questions, and the Old Man quickly warns "If you let him answer, you won't make it past the first round!"
To prove them wrong, Chumlee starts studying. After having his nose in a book for a few days soaking up information, Chum gets bombarded with test questions from the guys — and he surprisingly answers them all correctly.
Cut to Chumlee appearing on the game show, where he's asked a million-dollar question about naming the ghosts in the Ms. Pac-Man video game — and he gets it right! He just won $1 million! But then we find out it was all just a dream; he had fallen asleep at work. In reality, the Pawn Stars gang really did appear on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, walking away with $10,000 after incorrectly answering their sixth question. Their winnings went to the Boys and Girls Club of Las Vegas.