Economy
Discover facts about economy. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Economy
Fanta began as a wartime substitute for Coca-Cola.
Fanta began as a wartime substitute for Coca-Cola. When the German branch could no longer obtain cola syrup during World War II, it made a different soft…
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Standard and Poor's historically downgraded the credit rating of the United States federal government in 2011 from AAA to AA+ due to endless political bickering over the debt ceiling.
Standard and Poor's historically downgraded the credit rating of the United States federal government in 2011 from AAA to AA+ due to endless political…
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Picasso turned plates and jugs into another kind of canvas.
Picasso turned plates and jugs into another kind of canvas. At the Madoura pottery workshop in southern France, Picasso worked with ceramic forms as well as…
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Some claw machines let the operator set how hard the claw grips.
Some claw machines let the operator set how hard the claw grips. Adjustable grip strength can make a toy easy to lift but hard to hold until a machine's…
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Wedding industry vendors operate on a remarkably blatant form of price gouging known as the 'wedding markup', where they aggressively inflate the exact same services by up to…
Wedding industry vendors operate on a remarkably blatant form of price gouging known as the 'wedding markup', where they aggressively inflate the exact same…
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John Law tied a bank and a colonial dream into one bubble.
John Law tied a bank and a colonial dream into one bubble. With support from France's regent, Law established a bank in 1716 and later linked his financial…
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Some prison contracts made empty beds expensive for taxpayers.
Some prison contracts made empty beds expensive for taxpayers. A 2013 review found occupancy guarantees in 65% of the private-prison contracts it examined,…
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A hospital bill put a $39.35 price beside skin-to-skin contact.
A hospital bill put a $39.35 price beside skin-to-skin contact. In 2016, a Utah father's itemized bill went viral because the charge appeared to price holding…
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Free shipping can make the more expensive purchase feel cheaper.
Free shipping can make the more expensive purchase feel cheaper. Compare a $25 item with $5 shipping to a $32 item with shipping included: the second still…
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New Zealand's farm-emissions plan ran into a political reversal.
New Zealand's farm-emissions plan ran into a political reversal. The country debated pricing agricultural greenhouse gases, including methane produced by…
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A game's purchase price can be only the first sale.
A game's purchase price can be only the first sale. Expansions, cosmetic items, subscriptions, and battle passes let a game keep earning after the initial…
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Unpaid internships initially emerged as a way to provide clinical training for doctors in the early twentieth century, but eventually mutated into a massive corporate loophole…
Unpaid internships initially emerged as a way to provide clinical training for doctors in the early twentieth century, but eventually mutated into a massive…
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Global economic research consistently indicates that women drive the vast majority of consumer purchasing decisions worldwide, effectively controlling or heavily influencing an…
Global economic research consistently indicates that women drive the vast majority of consumer purchasing decisions worldwide, effectively controlling or…
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Recent economic reports from global financial institutions have repeatedly confirmed that the richest one percent of the global population currently hoards roughly half of all…
Recent economic reports from global financial institutions have repeatedly confirmed that the richest one percent of the global population currently hoards…
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IKEA's furniture names started as an alternative to numbers.
IKEA's furniture names started as an alternative to numbers. The company says Ingvar Kamprad found numbers difficult to remember, so products received names…
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Alaska built a fund that sends residents a yearly check.
Alaska built a fund that sends residents a yearly check. The Permanent Fund invested a share of Alaska's mineral revenues rather than spending all of them…
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WeWork sold investors more than office space.
WeWork sold investors more than office space. Its $47 billion private valuation reflected ambitions for a rapidly growing business, not simply the value of…
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Scotland bankrupted its entire national economy in the late 1690s by sinking a fifth of the country wealth into a doomed attempt to build a colonial empire in the mosquito-infested swamps of Panama.
Scotland bankrupted its entire national economy in the late 1690s by sinking a fifth of the country wealth into a doomed attempt to build a colonial empire in…
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Borrowing against shares can provide cash without selling them.
Borrowing against shares can provide cash without selling them. In the United States, selling appreciated stock generally realizes a taxable gain, while a…
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Italy’s valuable truffles have made some hunting dogs targets of poisoning.
Italy’s valuable truffles have made some hunting dogs targets of poisoning. Finding the hidden fungi depends on a trained animal’s nose, so harming a rival’s…
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Different supermarket brands can have the same owner.
Different supermarket brands can have the same owner. Large food groups own portfolios of brands that compete for attention on the same shelves. Each label…
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Fast food dollar menus are economically sustainable only because the actual cost of raising beef and corn is heavily subsidized by the government, meaning taxpayers are…
Fast food dollar menus are economically sustainable only because the actual cost of raising beef and corn is heavily subsidized by the government, meaning…
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An ancient coin machine sold a portion of holy water.
An ancient coin machine sold a portion of holy water. Heron of Alexandria described a dispenser in which a coin landed on a small pan and its weight opened a…
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Black Friday's shopping name began as a complaint about crowds.
Black Friday's shopping name began as a complaint about crowds. Philadelphia police used it for the traffic and disruption around the day after Thanksgiving.…
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