In 1997, Fox Television and home builder Kaufman and Broad constructed a real-life replica of the house from the Simpsons animated television show. The house was intended as a grand prize for a contest partially sponsored by Pepsi.
The network also hoped the contest would boost viewership of the show, which had waned over the years.
As consumers drank soda, they collected caps that contained a code. If their code matched the code displayed during the season premiere of The Simpsons, the person holding the code would win the house. When the code was displayed, no one claimed the prize.
The backup plan was a random drawing. When 63-year-old Barbara Howard won the house, she opted to take the $75,000 cash payout instead.
The house sat empty for almost 2 years.
Read about the fate of the house and see photos here:
[HOME SWEET HOMER: THE STRANGE SAGA OF THE REAL-LIFE SIMPSONS HOUSE IN NEVADA]