In 2005, both Sotheby’s and Christie’s were eager to sell Takashi Hashiyama’s $20 million art collection, which included works by Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, and Paul Cézanne. But when Hashiyama couldn’t choose between the auction houses, he let a game of “Rock, Paper, Scissors” make the decision for him.
Both Sotheby’s and Christie’s were given a few days to select their weapon of choice. And while a Sotheby’s employee admitted to The New York Times that they “didn’t really give it that much thought” and “had no strategy in mind,” the team at Christie’s researched the psychology behind the hit-or-miss game and talked to 11-year-old twin “experts” (daughters of a Christie’s employee) who played it at school “practically every day.”
The twins offered an informed suggestion, with one telling the Times, “Everybody knows you always start with scissors. Rock is way too obvious, and scissors beats paper. Since [the auction house employees] were beginners, scissors was definitely the safest.” Christie’s went with scissors and won.