Three recent college graduates decided to be poor a few weeks ago and pitch one-man tents in the backyard of a friend’s duplex apartment. They each pay $100 a month for bathroom access, storage space, and a 5-by-8 plot of dirty Bushwick land. 

Ok, so the stunt got them a good amount of media attention, but what other benefit could there possibly be? They describe the experience as a “badass thing to do,” but their matching tents cost $170 a pop and one of the guys (who’s also planning on attending law school) sleeps on a Tempurpedic mattress — among disease-dribbling rats.

Though I’m still wondering if this is a secret marketing campaign for some ahead-of-the-curve camping equipment company, I decided to do some apartment hunting for these guys. If the three of them put their money together they could find a room in which to pitch their tents, high and dry, for under $300 a month in breezy Bridgeport, Connecticut. It’s a completely original place to live that’s full of authentic poverty experiences … I’m assuming that’s the point of all this, right?