No doubt you remember getting Columbia House packets in the mail. Eight CDs for a penny? What minimum wage-earning kid wasn't stoked about that? Ethan Trex over at mental_floss has uncovered the details behind how the mail-order powerhouse managed to make money on the deal. There are also surprising nuggets like these:

In March 2000, the 60-year-old Parvin admitted that he had used 16 post office boxes and his own home address to fleece Columbia House and BMG out of 26,554 discs during a five-year span in the ’90s. He pleaded guilty to a single count of mail fraud.


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