Economy
Discover facts about economy. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Economy
The phosphorus in fertilizer is valuable enough to recover from waste
Crops need phosphorus, and much commercial fertilizer begins with mined phosphate rock. After food is eaten, some of that nutrient ends up in wastewater…
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Why bears are farmed for their bile
Demand for bear bile keeps a disturbing trade going: bears are held in cramped cages and repeatedly drained to supply it for some traditional medicines.
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Coal sparked the entire human industrial revolution
Coal packed enough energy to free manufacturing from relying on muscle and firewood. The same fuel that helped factories grow also filled the air with intense…
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Pesticide overuse demands escalating chemical yields
Aphids that survive a pesticide can pass on resistance. Farmers may then need stronger chemicals to protect the next crop, turning each round of spraying into…
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Amber fossilized resin holds immense historic value
Some Baltic amber was prized not just for its color but for what it trapped: insects preserved in hardened resin. Those tiny fossils helped make the material…
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Indigo dye plantations fueled colonial empires
Indigo was valuable enough to rival sugar and cotton, so colonial powers had reason to build trade around it. That trade helped sustain forced-labor systems…
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A thoroughbred's pedigree depends on how it was conceived
The American Stud Book requires natural mating and requires the same mare to carry and deliver the foal. Artificial insemination and cloning do not meet that…
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Potting soil can destroy ancient carbon stores
A bag of potting soil can contain peat moss dug from wetlands. That peat holds carbon stored for millennia; harvesting it releases the carbon into the…
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How air conditioning built booming cities in the South
Businesses and workers had a new reason to settle in places where summer heat once made daily life difficult. As mechanical cooling spread, Southern cities…
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Rare earth elements aren't actually rare
Rare earths aren't scarce in the ground; cleanly separating them is the hard part. A useful deposit arrives mixed with other minerals, so companies must put…
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World War I dressings sometimes had moss inside the gauze
A surviving Red Cross dressing contains sphagnum enclosed in absorbent paper, cotton fibers and an outer wrapping. The moss supplied absorption; the dressing…
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America owes trillions to itself
Some of the government’s IOUs are held by its own trust funds, including Social Security. The government borrowed that money and still owes it back; the…
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Anti-litter campaigns made the consumer the final link
Packaging companies helped fund campaigns that emphasized what people did after buying a drink or snack. That framing focused attention on disposal rather…
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Many cocoa farmers have never tasted chocolate
West African farmers can grow the cocoa beans that become chocolate and still be unable to afford the finished treat. Poverty wages keep the people growing…
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Why taxpayer-funded stadiums rarely pay off locally
The bargain is public money up front for a promised local windfall later. Independent economists often find that stadiums return less to the local economy…
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A tax break helped tie American health insurance to work.
A tax break helped tie American health insurance to work. Employer-paid health coverage gained favorable tax treatment, explicitly established in federal law…
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Classical economists struggled for years with the diamond-water paradox, questioning why water, which is absolutely essential for human survival, is virtually free, while…
Classical economists struggled for years with the diamond-water paradox, questioning why water, which is absolutely essential for human survival, is virtually…
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The dollar bill has avoided the dramatic redesigns of larger notes.
The dollar bill has avoided the dramatic redesigns of larger notes. Low-value counterfeits offer less payoff, so security redesign efforts have focused on…
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United States quarters and dimes feature tiny ridges along their outer edges because historical coins were minted from solid silver and gold, making them prime targets for a highly lucrative scam known as coin clipping.
United States quarters and dimes feature tiny ridges along their outer edges because historical coins were minted from solid silver and gold, making them…
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Venezuela famously pegged its national currency to a newly created state-backed cryptocurrency called the Petro in 2018, supposedly backed by the country's vast oil, gas, gold,…
Venezuela famously pegged its national currency to a newly created state-backed cryptocurrency called the Petro in 2018, supposedly backed by the country's…
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DeLorean’s cocaine trial ended in acquittal.
DeLorean’s cocaine trial ended in acquittal. With his car company in financial trouble, John DeLorean became the target of a 1982 undercover drug operation. A…
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Hulk Hogan's lawsuit had a secret backer: Peter Thiel.
Hulk Hogan's lawsuit had a secret backer: Peter Thiel. The billionaire helped finance Hogan's privacy case against Gawker, a publication he had a personal…
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Imperial Russia's vodka sales helped fill the treasury.
Imperial Russia's vodka sales helped fill the treasury. The state spirits monopoly made drinking a major source of government revenue. Restricting vodka sales…
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Keynes learned to invest differently after painful losses.
Keynes learned to invest differently after painful losses. Research on his portfolios traces a move away from trying to time broad economic swings toward…
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