Economy
Discover facts about economy. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Economy
In time banking, every hour is worth the same
Forget gold standards; welcome to the chronos standard. Time banking operates on a system where one hour of your labor equals exactly one time credit, meaning…
Discover more
Why ATM PINs have four digits
The bedrock of modern financial security is heavily reliant on one random woman's refusal to remember a slightly longer string of numbers. John…
Discover more
How a tax rule created the 401(k)
Your entire retirement strategy is based on a bureaucratic typo. The US Congress quietly passed section 401(k) in 1978 to limit executive tax perks. A random…
Discover more
Where your payment-app balance really sits
That money sitting in your quick-pay app does not actually belong to you yet. These companies pool billions of user dollars into their own massive master bank…
Discover more
The economic theory that assumes neighbors can agree
The Coase theorem hilariously assumes that if property rights are clear, private parties can bargain their way out of problems without outside help. It…
Discover more
Your neighbor’s landscaping can raise your home’s value
When the guy next door spends five thousand dollars perfectly landscaping his hideous front lawn, he accidentally gifts you a positive externality. The…
Discover more
STACKY FOR IPHONEA bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.
Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.
Why foreign aid often returns to the donor country
Philanthropy looks amazing on paper until you follow the literal paper trail. Massive government charity packages typically mandate that the receiving nations…
Discover more
Mozart earned a fortune and still died broke
Despite the myth that he died a misunderstood pauper, Mozart was actually earning the modern equivalent of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year at the peak…
Discover more
How Scientology won tax-exempt status from the IRS
If you want to dodge federal taxes, just aggressively sue the government until they literally give up. The Church of Scientology unleashed an absolute…
Discover more
Why Australia's 50-cent coin has 12 sides
Sometimes national economic policy is dictated entirely by clumsy people dropping their pocket change. The original 1966 Australian 50-cent piece was…
Discover more
A luxury koi fish can cost hundreds of thousands
Having a pleasant pond is nice, but having a pond filled with swimming luxury cars is better. Specific colorful carp with perfectly symmetrical orange spots…
Discover more
Sharp got its name from a mechanical pencil
The massive electronics conglomerate making your television got its name from stationery. The founder invented the 'Ever-Ready Sharp Pencil' in 1915, which…
Discover more
International institutions force strict austerity on nations
Getting a rescue package from global authorities comes with absolutely brutal conditions. Developing countries receive emergency reserves, but only if they…
Discover more
Why we mine gold only to bury it again
Aliens observing our economy would think we are absolute idiots. We spend billions of dollars and employ massive, environmentally destructive machinery to…
Discover more
Professional organizers charge hourly to throw away junk
We live in an era where people have accumulated so much physical clutter they are paralyzed by the thought of cleaning. You can now hire specialists who…
Discover more
Governments constantly spend revenues they do not possess
Living wildly beyond your means is supposedly a terrible idea for citizens but standard operating procedure for the state. By constantly issuing new treasury…
Discover more
Sending applications into endless digital black holes
Resume ghosting is the labor market's version of leaving someone on read, but with your livelihood. Companies demand customized cover letters and intense…
Discover more
Stores accepted more theft to encourage impulse buying
Retailers literally decided that accepting a little petty theft was highly profitable for business. In the mid-19th century, stores shifted from keeping goods…
Discover more
The peanut farmers who needed a license
For decades, the US operated under a strict quota system where only inherited license holders could legally grow peanuts for domestic consumption. It…
Discover more
Seatbelts save lives and reduce societal cost
Because your traumatic injury is highly expensive for everyone else. Governments mandate wearing seatbelts not just out of pure compassion, but because…
Discover more
Why people burn fake money for the afterlife
Proving that fiscal anxiety extends far beyond the grave, specific cultural traditions ensure their deceased ancestors remain thoroughly funded in the…
Discover more
Violin restorations cost astronomically high amounts
Maintaining classical string instruments requires a bizarrely specialized skillset. Luthiers charge staggering amounts to glue tiny pieces of specialized wood…
Discover more
The Dow tracks just 30 handpicked companies
We base the psychological health of our entire global economy on the equivalent of a high school clique. The Dow isn't a broad market metric; it's a…
Discover more
Zombie funds can charge fees without investing
Even the walking dead expect their standard two percent cut. Zombie funds are venture or private equity vehicles that have essentially failed, making no new…
Discover more