--- title: "Someone Is Selling NFTs of Olive Garden Locations That They Do Not Own" description: "Because 2021 couldn’t get much dumber, someone has begun minting Olive Garden NFTs — though it doesn’t appear they’re affiliated with any real-life Olive Garden franchisees. Taking the generalized meme [remember ebaumsworld?????] surrounding the fast-casual “Italian” chain to the next level, the person or people behind these “Non-Fungible Olive Gardens” admit on their site that, […]" date: "2021-12-21" modified: "2021-12-21" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/olive-garden-nfts" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Future Society" - "NFTs" tags: - "blockchain" - "memes" - "nfts" - "the digest" --- # Someone Is Selling NFTs of Olive Garden Locations That They Do Not Own ![Someone has begun minting Olive Garden NFTs even though they admittedly do not have any affiliation with any actual brick-and-mortar Olive Gardens. ]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## Blockchain Casual Because 2021 couldn't get much dumber, someone has begun minting Olive Garden NFTs — even though they admittedly do not have any affiliation with any actual brick-and-mortar Olive Gardens. Taking the [generalized meme]() surrounding the fast-casual "Italian" chain to the next level, the person or people behind these "[Non-Fungible Olive Gardens]()" admit on their site that, for now, purchasing one of the NFTS — or becoming a "franchisee," per the site's lexicon — grants owners "no rights or privileges in meatspace Olive Gardens." In a list that blurs the line between satire and seriousness, however, the anonymous creator or creators known only as "[mossy]()" list off the ways they plan to eventually merge the "Non-Fungible Olive Garden Metaverse" with the real world: the minting of 880 Olive Garden NFTs and "unlimited" breadstick NFTs, launching "the world's first Neverending Pasta Bowl on the blockchain," attracting celebrity influencers, creating an "open-world Olive Garden RPG," releasing "Scampi Sneakers" and, finally, using the money from the NFTs to buy out Darden Restaurants, the infamous chain's parent company. https://twitter.com/felipe3867/status/1472988061566914563 ## Is This Moss While it's pretty impossible to deduce from nonfungibleolivergardens.com whether or not "mossy" is for real or trolling, the site is nevertheless full of hilarious references and Easter eggs, including — but very much not limited to — the acronym-ized Olive Garden tagline "WYHYF," short for the chain's cheesy slogan, "When You're Here, You're Family." If you're interested in buying a newly-minted and randomly-selected NFT Olive Garden, you're out of luck: they're all sold out, though you can buy one on resale markets, the website announcing the project noted. You can also mint a breadstick NFT for free, although "mossy" notes on the site that you will have to pay "gas fees" to miners, which is cryptospeak for the computers that make the NFT machine go brrrr. Obviously, the concept of spending any money at all to own a fake Olive Garden franchise that's based on a "meatspace" Olive Garden (or a fake breadstick, for that matter) is farcical — but then again, [people pay millions]() for NFTs of pixel art headshots, Bored Apes, and [pissed-off-looking lions](), so who are we to judge? **More NFT idiocy:** [*Guy Accidentally Sells $300,000 “Bored Ape” NFT for 1% of Its Value*]() **And on the flip side:** [*Someone Made a “Doom” Mod Where Instead of Shooting Demons, You Take Screenshots of NFTs*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()