Economy
Discover facts about economy. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Economy
Some collectors pay for strangers' clipped nails
Some online marketplaces let collectors pay sizable sums for strangers’ clipped fingernails. The seller’s nail clippings become someone else’s collectible.
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TGI Fridays began as a singles bar
Alan Stillman opened the first TGI Fridays in New York in 1965, hoping to create a place where young single people could meet. Bright decor and an…
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Cities spend huge sums powering and maintaining streetlights so roads stay visible
Every streetlight needs electricity, repairs and eventual upgrades, and a city may have millions of them. Keeping the roads lit means paying a bill that keeps…
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Massive firms completely control entire industries
When a few huge firms dominate an industry, a smaller rival has little room to win customers or challenge them. The market may look open on paper while most…
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Your card payment is approved before all the money moves
Authorization tells the merchant that the issuer has approved the transaction. Clearing and settlement happen afterward, reconciling transactions and…
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The painful price of replacing one missing puzzle piece
The last piece may be missing, and the replacement bill can still be steep. Puzzle companies charge to mail a lone piece, turning a tiny bit of cardboard into…
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In a pirate puzzle, one coin can buy a life-saving vote
The classic puzzle gives pirates a strict order of command and throws out a captain whose split of the treasure fails the vote. A clever captain works…
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Financial contagion lets one failing bank drag down others
A bank’s losses don’t stop at its own doors if other banks are counting on being repaid. When one can’t pay, its lenders and trading partners may come up…
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Cold, hard cash means you don't have to wait for payment
The phrase refers to money available now, rather than an IOU or a payment expected later. That distinction matters even when the promised amount is identical:…
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Maternal mortality inflicts severe economic damage
When a mother dies in childbirth after inadequate care, her family loses more than a loved one. The loss can unsettle the household and leave lasting…
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Why loan payments barely reduce debt at first
Your early loan payments can feel like they disappear: much of the money goes to interest while the balance barely moves. Over time, as the loan is amortized,…
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A Cold War missile silo became an underground condo building
The Survival Condo project in Kansas repurposed an Atlas missile silo as multilevel residential space. Its unusual selling point is the structure the military…
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Chinese demand dictates Southeast Asian durian exports
China’s appetite for durian has helped turn farmland in Malaysia and Thailand toward the fruit. As growers chase that demand, the region’s farms change to…
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Dollhouse furniture can cost more than real furniture
A miniature mahogany dresser can cost more than a full-size one. At 1:12 scale, every tiny detail takes painstaking work, and collectors are willing to pay…
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3M fiercely protects its canary yellow sticky note trademark
The Post-it shade began with whatever paper a neighboring lab had lying around: yellow scraps. That accidental choice became distinctive enough for 3M to…
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Llama immune systems produce highly resilient antibodies
Llamas make unusually small antibody fragments, often called nanobodies. Researchers are studying them as building blocks for treatments against viral…
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Why honey buns are valuable in prison
Iced honey buns can do the work of cash behind bars: people stash them, then trade them to settle gambling debts or get favors. A pastry can leave the vending…
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Commercial apple juice relies on massive concentrate imports
The juice can cross an ocean before it ever looks like juice: concentrate ships in bulk, then gets reconstituted before going into cartons.
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How a trust can hold billions without a parent company
A charitable or purpose trust can own the shares itself, breaking the legal link between those assets and the parent company. The billions sit with the trust…
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You once could order an entire house from Sears
Buyers got a train delivery of as many as 30,000 pieces, plus a manual telling them how to assemble the house. Sears sold a whole home as a box of parts.
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Dredging rivers is a continuous money pit
Sediment keeps settling in shipping channels, so crews have to dredge them again and again. Skip the work, and cargo ships can run aground.
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A patent lawsuit can be profitable without making a product
Some businesses buy patents and earn money through licensing demands or litigation rather than manufacturing. A defendant may settle when fighting would cost…
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Brain drain steals the smartest workers from poor nations
A developing country can pay to educate a scientist, only to see a wealthier country hire that scientist away. The new employer gets the benefit of training…
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Bankruptcy courts auction off assets at massive discounts
A bankruptcy auction can put a company’s patents beside its office chairs. Buyers who know what to do with those assets can snap them up at steep discounts.
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