Va. sisters sell corn flake shaped like Illinois on eBay

CHICAGO -- Two sisters from Virginia are selling a single corn flake shaped like the state of Illinois on the online auction site eBay, drawing bids of nearly $23 Sunday.

"At the moment it's residing in a fine jewelry box with a lot of cotton wrapped around it to keep it safe," said Melissa McIntire, 23, of Chesapeake, Va., who along with her sister Emily McIntire, 15, is selling the flake pulled from a box of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes.

Emily McIntire, a sophomore in high school, said she was grabbing fistfuls of the cereal on her way to class when she found the flake.

"It was almost to my mouth, it didn't look like Illinois at first because it was held the wrong way," Emily McIntire said, but then she noticed the resemblance and said, "Oh my goodness, it's Illinois."

The flake is being sold under the listing "The Great Illinois Corn Flake" and bidding ends Thursday morning. As of Sunday afternoon, the top bid was $22.50.

A photo on the site shows the flake next to a dime to display its size. The listing promises free shipping to Illinois.

Melissa McIntire said their parents suggested the girls sell the corn flake on eBay.

"We had heard the stories of other funny things being sold on eBay," Melissa McIntire said, adding that the family wants to "build some memories of the time we sold our corn flake on eBay."

The McIntire sisters say they've decided to use the proceeds from the eBay sale to buy more boxes of Frosted Flakes.

"We've got to replace the one we've already sold," Melissa McIntire said. "We like cereal."