Economy
Discover facts about economy. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Economy
Christchurch city council in New Zealand actually kept a literal wizard on their official government payroll for over twenty-three years, paying him an annual salary of sixteen thousand dollars.
Christchurch city council in New Zealand actually kept a literal wizard on their official government payroll for over twenty-three years, paying him an annual…
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Economists widely observe a principle called Gresham's Law, which states that bad money always drives out good money from active circulation within a given market.
Economists widely observe a principle called Gresham's Law, which states that bad money always drives out good money from active circulation within a given…
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Swiss cheese production was strictly controlled by a massive government-backed cartel known as the Swiss Cheese Union from the First World War all the way until the late 1990s.
Swiss cheese production was strictly controlled by a massive government-backed cartel known as the Swiss Cheese Union from the First World War all the way…
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Delaware hosts more registered corporate entities than it has actual human residents, primarily because the tiny state offers a highly secretive and incredibly lenient legal…
Delaware hosts more registered corporate entities than it has actual human residents, primarily because the tiny state offers a highly secretive and…
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Canada actually maintains a strategic national reserve of maple syrup that operates precisely like the OPEC oil cartel, artificially controlling the global supply and wholesale prices of the sugary condiment.
Canada actually maintains a strategic national reserve of maple syrup that operates precisely like the OPEC oil cartel, artificially controlling the global…
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Seventeenth-century Sweden established a national currency backed almost entirely by copper, which forced citizens to conduct basic daily business using incredibly massive, completely impractical slabs of heavy metal.
Seventeenth-century Sweden established a national currency backed almost entirely by copper, which forced citizens to conduct basic daily business using…
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Major corporate employers in Japan rarely fire their underperforming employees outright due to deeply ingrained cultural stigmas and strict labor laws, so they instead utilize…
Major corporate employers in Japan rarely fire their underperforming employees outright due to deeply ingrained cultural stigmas and strict labor laws, so…
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Inhabitants of the incredibly remote volcanic island of Tristan da Cunha briefly utilized the humble potato as their official, government-recognized form of currency during the…
Inhabitants of the incredibly remote volcanic island of Tristan da Cunha briefly utilized the humble potato as their official, government-recognized form of…
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British taxpayers only finished paying off the massive government debt incurred from the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act in the year 2015.
British taxpayers only finished paying off the massive government debt incurred from the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act in the year 2015. Instead of compensating…
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Japanese communities invented a localized currency called fureai kippu that is earned entirely by volunteering to care for elderly citizens.
Japanese communities invented a localized currency called fureai kippu that is earned entirely by volunteering to care for elderly citizens. You can save up…
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Corporate giants routinely take out secret life insurance policies on their lowest-level employees so the company gets a massive payout when those workers die.
Corporate giants routinely take out secret life insurance policies on their lowest-level employees so the company gets a massive payout when those workers…
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Wall Street actually trades financial derivatives based on the specific weather patterns in different regions of the country to help corporations hedge their bets against bad seasons.
Wall Street actually trades financial derivatives based on the specific weather patterns in different regions of the country to help corporations hedge their…
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Romanian government officials officially changed their labor laws in 2011 to classify witchcraft as a taxable profession in a desperate attempt to collect more revenue.
Romanian government officials officially changed their labor laws in 2011 to classify witchcraft as a taxable profession in a desperate attempt to collect…
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Sony actually makes a massive chunk of its operating profit not from selling video games, expensive televisions, or headphones, but from selling life insurance policies to Japanese citizens.
Sony actually makes a massive chunk of its operating profit not from selling video games, expensive televisions, or headphones, but from selling life…
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Capuchin monkeys were taught to use small silver discs as money in an economic experiment conducted at Yale University, and they immediately proved that capitalism brings out the absolute worst in primates.
Capuchin monkeys were taught to use small silver discs as money in an economic experiment conducted at Yale University, and they immediately proved that…
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Oceans contain an estimated twenty million tons of dissolved gold suspended in the seawater, representing a staggering fortune that completely dwarfs the entire global economy by a ridiculous margin.
Oceans contain an estimated twenty million tons of dissolved gold suspended in the seawater, representing a staggering fortune that completely dwarfs the…
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Strong, a tiny manufacturing town in Maine, somehow managed to secure an absolute monopoly on the global timber market by producing ninety percent of the world's wooden toothpicks during the twentieth century.
Strong, a tiny manufacturing town in Maine, somehow managed to secure an absolute monopoly on the global timber market by producing ninety percent of the…
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Japanese economists credit vending machines for generating tens of billions of dollars annually, but those same machines historically crush and kill roughly four times as many people globally as great white sharks do.
Japanese economists credit vending machines for generating tens of billions of dollars annually, but those same machines historically crush and kill roughly…
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South Africa introduced the Krugerrand in 1967 as the first gold bullion coin designed entirely for private individuals to hoard wealth, making it wildly popular among paranoid investors worldwide.
South Africa introduced the Krugerrand in 1967 as the first gold bullion coin designed entirely for private individuals to hoard wealth, making it wildly…
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President Abraham Lincoln established the United States Secret Service on the exact same day he was assassinated, but their original mission had absolutely nothing to do with protecting politicians.
President Abraham Lincoln established the United States Secret Service on the exact same day he was assassinated, but their original mission had absolutely…
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Deep beneath the streets of Manhattan, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York houses the largest known depository of gold in the entire world, resting on bedrock eighty feet underground.
Deep beneath the streets of Manhattan, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York houses the largest known depository of gold in the entire world, resting on…
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Alfred Nobel never actually established a Nobel Prize in Economics when he wrote his famous will outlining the awards for physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace.
Alfred Nobel never actually established a Nobel Prize in Economics when he wrote his famous will outlining the awards for physics, chemistry, medicine,…
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Germany officially made its final financial reparations payment for World War One in the incredibly recent year of 2010, nearly a full century after the conflict ended.
Germany officially made its final financial reparations payment for World War One in the incredibly recent year of 2010, nearly a full century after the…
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Coins do not actually have a metallic smell, and the distinct metallic odor you notice on your hands after handling change is actually the smell of your own skin breaking down.
Coins do not actually have a metallic smell, and the distinct metallic odor you notice on your hands after handling change is actually the smell of your own…
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