Fact files

Prices

Launch prices, fees, admissions and project costs.

Price questions test two things at once: what something costs and what money was worth when the price was set. These are launch prices, admission fees, memberships and the costs of big projects, each tied to a year or context in the note. Read our guide to guessing prices for the habits that help.

Below are 24 questions from this category of the Catamount question bank, with the answer and the note that explains it. Figures are rounded, commonly cited values. Try guessing before you read the answer.

About how many dollars was Qatar's World Cup 2022 spending estimated at?

$220,000,000,000 · Widely cited estimate

About how many dollars did the New Horizons mission cost?

$700,000,000 · Pluto flyby 2015

How many dollars did the US pay Mexico for the Mexican Cession in 1848?

$15,000,000 · Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

How many dollars was Stephen Curry's 4 year Warriors contract signed in 2021?

$215,000,000 · Then the richest NBA deal

What was the US launch price in dollars of the Sega Saturn in 1995?

$399 · Surprise early launch May 1995.

How many dollars did the US pay Spain for the Philippines in 1898?

$20,000,000 · Treaty of Paris

What was the monthly price in dollars of Paramount+ Essential at its 2021 launch?

$4.99 · Rebrand of CBS All Access.

What was the launch price in dollars of the iPhone 15 Pro Max in 2023?

$1,199 · 256GB model.

What was the original 2002 price in dollars of Trader Joe's Charles Shaw wine?

$1.99 · Known as Two-Buck Chuck.

What was the 1959 retail price in dollars of the first Barbie doll?

$3 · Introduced at Toy Fair.

What was the 2022 starting price in dollars of the Ford Maverick hybrid XL?

$19,995 · Excluding destination fee.

How many dollars did Apple pay for Beats in 2014?

$3,000,000,000 · Largest Apple deal at the time

What was the launch price in dollars of the Apple Lisa in 1983?

$9,995 · Commercial flop.

What was the budget of the original Star Wars (1977) in dollars?

$11,000,000 · Fox release

What was the Steam price in dollars of Valheim in early access in 2021?

$19.99 · Early access launch.

What was the US launch price in dollars of the Nintendo Switch Lite in 2019?

$199 · Launched September 2019.

What was the 1900 price in dollars of the first Kodak Brownie camera?

$1 · Made photography cheap.

What was the US launch price in dollars of the Nintendo GameCube in 2001?

$199 · Launched November 2001.

How many dollars did Facebook pay for WhatsApp in 2014?

$19,000,000,000 · Cash and stock

What was the Steam launch price in dollars of Palworld in 2024?

$29.99 · Early access launch.

What was the 1945 retail price in dollars of the first Slinky?

$1 · Sold out at Gimbels.

What was the toll in dollars paid by the first ship through the Panama Canal in 1914?

$1,683 · SS Ancon; $1,683.19.

How many dollars did the Grand Theft Auto V budget reach including marketing?

$265,000,000 · Widely reported figure

How many dollars was Babe Ruth's top salary in 1930 and 1931?

$80,000 · Higher than the president's