Economy
Discover facts about economy. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Economy
Producing a single United States penny costs the federal government roughly three times its actual face value due to the rising prices of zinc and copper.
Producing a single United States penny costs the federal government roughly three times its actual face value due to the rising prices of zinc and copper. The…
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When workers were paid in vodka
When your country's fiscal policy heavily relies on getting the workforce absolutely hammered just to cope with reality. During the devastating economic…
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Major commercial airlines routinely make more operating profit from selling frequent flyer miles to massive credit card companies than they do from actually flying passengers around the globe.
Major commercial airlines routinely make more operating profit from selling frequent flyer miles to massive credit card companies than they do from actually…
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Unused gift cards generate billions of dollars in pure unearned profit for major retail corporations every single year because consumers simply forget to spend them.
Unused gift cards generate billions of dollars in pure unearned profit for major retail corporations every single year because consumers simply forget to…
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Somalia operated without a functioning central bank or formal monetary policy for over two decades, leading ordinary citizens to use high-quality counterfeit shillings as their actual everyday standard currency.
Somalia operated without a functioning central bank or formal monetary policy for over two decades, leading ordinary citizens to use high-quality counterfeit…
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The credit-card experiment that dropped 60,000 cards
In 1958, Bank of America basically air-dropped 60,000 live, pre-approved credit cards into Fresno, California, just to see what would happen. The 'Fresno…
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The US central bank sets rates independently
The entity controlling the US money supply is essentially an exclusive club that answers to nobody. While the President appoints its board, the Federal…
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Internal Revenue Service tax code is currently over nine million words long, which makes it about eight times longer than the entire Harry Potter series combined.
Internal Revenue Service tax code is currently over nine million words long, which makes it about eight times longer than the entire Harry Potter series…
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Fitness centers deliberately build their entire economic business model around the statistical certainty that at least eighty percent of their paying members will simply never show up to work out.
Fitness centers deliberately build their entire economic business model around the statistical certainty that at least eighty percent of their paying members…
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Even a nuclear apocalypse can't stop the taxman
Nothing stops the taxman, not even the complete radioactive annihilation of modern civilization. The Internal Revenue Manual actually features a detailed…
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The monk who taught Leonardo da Vinci double-entry bookkeeping
The bedrock of modern corporate anxiety was laid down by a monk who just really liked doing math. Luca Pacioli, a Franciscan friar in the 15th century,…
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Spain once threw platinum away as worthless silver
The imperial Spanish thirst for shiny rocks led to the greatest nautical face-palm in history. Conquistadors mining in South America kept finding platinum, a…
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When dried cod was legal currency in Iceland
Talk about a liquid asset. Before Iceland decided to try (and spectacularly fail at) modern banking in the 2000s, their medieval economy was so isolated that…
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Warren Buffett won a million-dollar wager in 2017 by proving that a basic S&P 500 index fund could easily outperform highly paid hedge fund managers over ten years.
Warren Buffett won a million-dollar wager in 2017 by proving that a basic S&P 500 index fund could easily outperform highly paid hedge fund managers over ten…
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Advertising executive Gary Dahl became a multimillionaire in 1975 by successfully convincing consumers to purchase literal rocks carefully packaged in cardboard boxes.
Advertising executive Gary Dahl became a multimillionaire in 1975 by successfully convincing consumers to purchase literal rocks carefully packaged in…
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Global lightbulb manufacturers formed a secret alliance in 1924 called the Phoebus Cartel explicitly to engineer products that would intentionally burn out faster.
Global lightbulb manufacturers formed a secret alliance in 1924 called the Phoebus Cartel explicitly to engineer products that would intentionally burn out…
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Why IKEA stores feel like confusing mazes
It is not a furniture store; it is a psychological warfare containment zone. The famous 'Gruen effect' is deliberately weaponized by IKEA's confusing,…
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Why hedge funds charge “two and twenty”
Wall Street has a magical grift called the 'Two and Twenty' fee structure. Hedge funds charge investors a 2% flat fee on total assets just for managing the…
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Why Americans save their $2 bills
There is a mass delusion in the US that the $2 bill is a rare, magical collector's item. In reality, the Federal Reserve has over a billion of them in…
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A coin toss can change a major life decision
When data fails, leave it to gravity. Freakonomics author Steven Levitt conducted a massive study where people facing major life decisions—like quitting a job…
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The 1,400-year-old company undone by debt
Most modern tech startups violently implode within three years, but Kongo Gumi managed to keep its doors open since 578 AD. Founded by a Korean carpenter to…
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America once taxed fake cheese out of existence
Forget counterfeit designer bags; America used to wage war over fake cheddar. In the late 1800s, producers started cutting cheese with cheap animal fats to…
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How the US Mint profits from shiny collector coins
If you cannot fix the national debt, you might as well monetize the hobbies of grandpas everywhere. The US Mint operates a wildly profitable side hustle known…
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Raising a child in the US now costs over $300,000
Forget buying a house or retiring comfortably; the ultimate luxury purchase in the modern economy is human reproduction. Thanks to out-of-control inflation,…
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