Economy
Discover facts about economy. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Economy
Merchants during the Tang dynasty in ancient China grew so exhausted by carrying incredibly heavy strings of copper coins over long trade routes that they invented the world's…
Merchants during the Tang dynasty in ancient China grew so exhausted by carrying incredibly heavy strings of copper coins over long trade routes that they…
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Sex workers and adult entertainers have noted that their industry frequently acts as an uncanny early warning system for economic recessions, a phenomenon informally dubbed the stripper index.
Sex workers and adult entertainers have noted that their industry frequently acts as an uncanny early warning system for economic recessions, a phenomenon…
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Victor Gruen invented the concept of the modern enclosed shopping mall in 1956 with the Southdale Center in Minnesota, heavily intending to create a utopian, pedestrian-friendly…
Victor Gruen invented the concept of the modern enclosed shopping mall in 1956 with the Southdale Center in Minnesota, heavily intending to create a utopian,…
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Inflation in the Roman Empire got so severely out of hand during the third century that Emperor Diocletian tried to freeze prices on everything from cabbage to gladiators under…
Inflation in the Roman Empire got so severely out of hand during the third century that Emperor Diocletian tried to freeze prices on everything from cabbage…
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Swiss business owners created a completely independent complementary currency called the WIR Franc during the Great Depression specifically to survive the catastrophic collapse of the global banking system.
Swiss business owners created a completely independent complementary currency called the WIR Franc during the Great Depression specifically to survive the…
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Nazi Germany launched Operation Bernhard during World War II with the explicit goal of completely collapsing the British economy by flooding the United Kingdom with millions of perfectly forged Bank of England banknotes.
Nazi Germany launched Operation Bernhard during World War II with the explicit goal of completely collapsing the British economy by flooding the United…
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George Taylor formulated the highly controversial Hemline Index in 1926, proposing a direct correlation between the length of women's skirts and the overall bullish or bearish performance of the stock market.
George Taylor formulated the highly controversial Hemline Index in 1926, proposing a direct correlation between the length of women's skirts and the overall…
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Japanese real estate prices reached such astronomically terrifying heights during the peak of their asset bubble in 1989 that the land beneath the Tokyo Imperial Palace was…
Japanese real estate prices reached such astronomically terrifying heights during the peak of their asset bubble in 1989 that the land beneath the Tokyo…
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Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company of Saudi Arabia, generated a staggering one hundred sixty-one billion dollars in net income in 2022, marking the highest annual profit ever recorded by a corporate entity.
Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company of Saudi Arabia, generated a staggering one hundred sixty-one billion dollars in net income in 2022, marking the…
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Sweden became the first country in the world to introduce negative interest rates in 2009, charging commercial banks to hold their excess cash reserves.
Sweden became the first country in the world to introduce negative interest rates in 2009, charging commercial banks to hold their excess cash reserves. The…
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Venezuela heavily subsidized gasoline for its citizens to the point where, in 2018, a single cup of coffee cost the exact same amount as filling the gas tanks of roughly nine thousand separate SUVs.
Venezuela heavily subsidized gasoline for its citizens to the point where, in 2018, a single cup of coffee cost the exact same amount as filling the gas tanks…
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Before the invention of modern coinage, ancient Mesopotamians used standardized clay tokens to record financial transactions, debt obligations, and agricultural inventories as early as 8000 BC.
Before the invention of modern coinage, ancient Mesopotamians used standardized clay tokens to record financial transactions, debt obligations, and…
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Japan possesses the highest national public debt in the developed world, routinely hovering around two hundred and sixty percent of their entire gross domestic product.
Japan possesses the highest national public debt in the developed world, routinely hovering around two hundred and sixty percent of their entire gross…
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Giant stone discs known as Rai stones were used as legitimate currency on the Micronesian island of Yap, with some of the coins weighing up to four metric tons.
Giant stone discs known as Rai stones were used as legitimate currency on the Micronesian island of Yap, with some of the coins weighing up to four metric…
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During the American Civil War, the Confederacy experienced such catastrophic inflation that their paper money, the greyback, became entirely useless, forcing citizens to barter with physical blocks of salt to survive.
During the American Civil War, the Confederacy experienced such catastrophic inflation that their paper money, the greyback, became entirely useless, forcing…
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Mansa Musa destroyed the entire economy of Cairo in the fourteenth century simply by giving away too much free gold during a religious pilgrimage.
Mansa Musa destroyed the entire economy of Cairo in the fourteenth century simply by giving away too much free gold during a religious pilgrimage. The…
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Nutella was originally invented as an emergency economic rationing measure because chocolate was far too expensive during the aftermath of World War II.
Nutella was originally invented as an emergency economic rationing measure because chocolate was far too expensive during the aftermath of World War II. An…
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Pringles legally argued in a British court that their product was not actually a potato chip in order to avoid paying millions in luxury snack taxes.
Pringles legally argued in a British court that their product was not actually a potato chip in order to avoid paying millions in luxury snack taxes. The…
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Costco willingly loses millions of dollars every single year on their iconic rotisserie chickens just to manipulate your consumer psychology.
Costco willingly loses millions of dollars every single year on their iconic rotisserie chickens just to manipulate your consumer psychology. They…
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Diamonds made entirely from the ashes of dead bodies are now a booming economic sector within the modern funeral industry.
Diamonds made entirely from the ashes of dead bodies are now a booming economic sector within the modern funeral industry. Because humans are largely…
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Monks invented the concept of the modern corporate structure during the medieval era to protect their massive wealth from taxation and greedy kings.
Monks invented the concept of the modern corporate structure during the medieval era to protect their massive wealth from taxation and greedy kings. The…
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Tupperware parties were deliberately designed to manipulate the social obligations of bored suburban housewives in order to drive massive corporate revenue.
Tupperware parties were deliberately designed to manipulate the social obligations of bored suburban housewives in order to drive massive corporate revenue.…
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Public economics heavily studies the free-rider problem, a frustrating market failure that occurs when individuals actively consume a shared resource without paying their fair share for its maintenance.
Public economics heavily studies the free-rider problem, a frustrating market failure that occurs when individuals actively consume a shared resource without…
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President Richard Nixon permanently severed the United States dollar from the gold standard in 1971, officially ending the Bretton Woods system and transforming the global…
President Richard Nixon permanently severed the United States dollar from the gold standard in 1971, officially ending the Bretton Woods system and…
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