OCTOBER 1, 2003

Full News Archive

• Headline: Developers Threaten Scuba Haven Paradise. Impact: As developers bought up the beach, it set off a chain reaction of beach-related catastrophes: sandcastle competitions turned into developer pitch meetings, and scuba divers began a new protest movement called 'Save Our Fins.'. Fact: Did you know that underwater ecosystems are often more stable than the housing market? Yet we still choose to build condos on them!.
• Headline: World Business Briefing | Europe: Britain: Economic Growth Rises. Impact: Britain’s economic growth rate being revised is like a toddler trying to learn how to walk: it stumbles, falls, and then gets back up, only to be told it was actually doing a different dance the whole time. This confusion leads to a national obsession with GDP, forever altering how Brits celebrate their economic milestones.. Fact: Did you know that economists have a special term for 'growing' economies? It's called 'pretty much anything but stagnation!'.
• Headline: World Business Briefing | Asia: Japan: Airlines Get New Loans. Impact: The loans provided to Japanese airlines turned out to be the financial equivalent of giving a toddler a sugar rush: they expanded rapidly, spiraled out of control, and eventually led to a series of unfortunate on-board karaoke incidents that would haunt the skies for decades.. Fact: Did you know that the airlines often joke that 'loans' are just a fancy way of saying 'we'll give you money to keep your dreams of flying alive, but we’ll also take your soul in the process'?.