How An Oddly Shaped Dorito Led To A $20,000 Payout

Oh, delicious, delicious chips. It's a wild world out there these days when it comes to these crunchy, packaged snacks, which now range from the classic potato chips of our youth to veggie straws and all kinds of tortilla chips – plus so much more, even we sometimes can't keep up. While they're not the best snack for our health, that love remains strong pretty much anytime the munchies hit.

One of the most beloved genres is that of corn chips, whether it's classic tortilla style, super-salty Fritos, or the cheesy king Doritos. In the time we've been snacking on Doritos, they've since evolved from the orange-powdered Nacho Cheese flavor to include a bunch of new cult classics, like the Cool Ranch version to jalapeño, buffalo, and taco flavors.

And while Doritos are typically known as flat, triangular shapes (not unlike tortilla chips), recently one lucky (and quite entrepreneurial) Australian teenager found a strangely formed Dorito in her bag — and turned it into $20,000. 

Recently, a 13-year-old Australian teenager named Rylee Stuart opened her bag of Doritos to find a puffed chip nestled among the flat chips most are accustomed to eating (via 9News). Being a teenager, Stuart naturally posted a TikTok video of the abnormally-shaped chip. As she told the news network, "I was about to eat it, and I thought I better save it for later."

According to 9News, the teen's TikTok video soon went viral (racking up 2 million views and counting), with followers encouraging her to monetize her unusual find by posting it for sale on eBay (like so many have in recent years for huge payouts). Stuart did so — and watched as bidders offered up to $100,000 for the cheesy oddball.

"I saw $10,000, and I, like, screamed," she told the network.

But the story doesn't end there. As Stuart's puffy Dorito was taking the internet by storm, the eBay listing was eventually taken down. But the folks at Doritos HQ — under the parent company PepsiCo — took note of the commotion and reached out to Stuart to offer her $20,000 for her unusual find. 

"We've been so impressed with Rylee's boldness and entrepreneurial spirit, so we wanted to make sure the Stuart family were rewarded for their creativity and love for Doritos," PepsiCo's Chief Marketing Officer Vandita Pandey told 9News.

We can't wrap our heads around why a puffy tortilla chip would generate so much interest — and wealth. But thanks to Stuart, you can bet we'll be scrutinizing our snacks from here on out.