Our Posts Roundup Sunday 12.14.14 The mystery of the missing magazines…more Monday 12.15.14 Where Italian needs a connection…more Tuesday 12.16.14 Which movie stars live longer…more Wednesday 12.17.14 The Christmas music list that keeps repeating…more Thursday 12.18.14 How a signature…
Explaining Why Doctors’ Waiting Rooms Have Old Magazines
While the BMJ has some fun with a study of disappearing waiting room magazines, an economist could use the tragedy of the commons to explain why.
The Funny Side of Misleading Statistics
At the BAHFest, evolutionary researchers present bogus theories that are funny but also display how we can be convinced by misleading statistics.
Monty Python World Cup: German vs. Greek Philosophers
Here is the line-up for the Monty Python World Cup soccer match between German and Greek philosophers: And the actual match: With Greece’s odds 125/1 for winning World Cup 2014 and Germany’s 4/1, it is highly unlikely that they will oppose each other this…
Top Ten Ways to Sound Like an Economist
You might find it handy sometimes to sound like an economist. Here are the top ten ways: 1. Whatever the question, always answer, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” 2. Defend a decision by declaring, “It was worth…
Economic Humor: A New Year’s Resolution
If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to “think economically,” please remember this top ten list: Whatever the question, always answer, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Defend a decision by declaring, “It was worth the opportunity…
A New View of the Fiscal Cliff and Greece
Merle Hazard’s newest song is “Fiscal Cliff.” While he recorded his “Greek Debt Song” several years ago, it still is relevant and fun to watch. Econlife looked at fiscal cliff details here and, for more on Greece, you might want to…
Valentines From the Fed
What a fantastic idea! When University of Pennsylvania economist Justin Wolpers suggested Federal Reserve Valentines, the Fed and others responded. The San Francisco Fed: “I’m going to extraordinary measures to increase your stimulus.” “My love is elastic; my commitment too big to…
Economic Humor
For laughter and economic insight, the following are wonderful. A Cartoon: From gocomics.com, a very hypothetical illustration of “The First Economist.” A Daily Show Excerpt: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s problems with selling his house. The Economic Lesson Some serious reading…
Random Technology Notes
In 1810, Nicholas Appert, a cook and bottler, inserted some food in a Champagne bottle, sealed it, and placed it in boiling water. Described by James Burke in Circles: Fifty Roundtrips Through History, Technology, Science, Culture, a French newspaper said…