Man accidentally pokes hole in $139 million Picasso

Casino magnate Steve Wynn is an avid art collector who owns a museum-worthy collection of works by European post-impressionists. He recently struck a deal to sell a piece by Picasso for $139 million, which would have been the most ever exchanged for a single canvas.

Before buyer took possession of the painting, Wynn accidentally punctured it with his elbow while showing it to some friends. "Oh shit," he said. "Look what I've done."

This doesn't really surprise me. People who handle valuable paintings on a regular basis toss them around more cavalierly than you might think. It's not as if they don't care -- they've just become accostomed to being around expensive paintings, which, in general, really aren't all that fragile. A Ferrari mechanic doesn't tip-toe around a car he's fixing any more than a Ford mechanic, even though the damage to be caused by dropping a wrench and scratching the paint is much greater.

Slate followed up with an interesting article about how paintings like this are repaired (it doesn't involve duct tape).