With great power comes great responsibility, but with the overwhelming power of a megacorporation, you can just string up some nets to catch your suicidal factory workers and call it a day. Naturally, such flippant behavior tends to inspire protest. But while most of those involve boring ol' "waving signs" and "drawing attention to systemic flaws," sometimes critics accomplish that goal with hilarious troll jobs instead. For example ...

5 A Fake Bidder Pranked A Mining Auction And Stopped The Sale Of National Land

In 2008, during the waning days of the Bush administration, the Bureau of Land Management put energy lease rights on 130,000 acres of national land in Utah up for auction. Those acres included Nine Mile Canyon and Dinosaur National Monument, which have sensitive geological and cultural significance, but also oil and mining assets. The auction was considered a sweetheart deal for mining interests before the Obama administration took charge and fulfilled their promise to terminate national land sales, on the basis that it sounds like the scheme of a lesser Captain Planet villain. But as long as the fire sale was completed in time, there were no legal obstacles standing in the way. Enter Tim DeChristopher.

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DeChristopher, a 27-year-old economics student, joined the auction and promptly drove up prices by "buying" $1.7 million worth of land parcels. The fact that he wasn't twirling a mustache or lighting a cigar with a hundred-dollar bill raised suspicion. After a break was called, he was taken into custody, and eventually charged with making a false statement and violating oil and gas leasing laws -- two of the weakest crimes on the books.

DeChristopher was sentenced to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine, but his scheme worked. The auction was suspended in the confusion, then withdrawn by the Obama administration. Thanks to DeChristopher raising their prices, Nile Mile Canyon and Dinosaur National Monument remain pristine homes of such treasured natural resources as miles and dinosaurs. Plus, DeChristopher got to appear on The Late Show after he was released, which we assume made jail worth it. Well, that and the whole "standing up for your principles" thing.