APRIL 14, 2008

Full News Archive

• Headline: Apollo's Debt Crisis with Linens 'n Things. Impact: If Apollo had actually let Linens 'n Things sink, the entire fabric of American retail might have unraveled. Imagine a world without bed sheets that come in ridiculous patterns! The butterfly flaps its wings, and suddenly we’re all sleeping on plain old cotton.. Fact: Linens 'n Things was so popular that their bankruptcy filing could have been the catalyst for a whole new line of discount home goods—thank you, dollar stores, for stepping in to fill the void!.
• Headline: Global Housing Market Decline. Impact: As the U.S. housing woes spread globally, a chain reaction set off a worldwide obsession with tiny homes. If only we knew that a housing crisis would lead to people living in shoeboxes and calling it 'minimalist living.'. Fact: Housing prices have been known to rise and fall just like your self-esteem after checking social media. It’s all cyclical, and yet we still can’t find a decent place to rent..
• Headline: Uncovering Legal Embarrassments Online. Impact: The rise of websites like The Smoking Gun paved the way for every social media influencer to think their embarrassing moments were worthy of publication. Thanks to this, we now have an endless stream of 'Oops, I did it again' reality shows.. Fact: Dirty jobs may not always be glamorous, but at least they make for good TV! Who knew digging up legal documents could be more entertaining than watching paint dry?.
• Headline: A City Where You Can’t Hear Yourself Scream. Impact: The relentless noise of protests in Egypt not only brought attention to political strife but also inspired a whole generation of artists to create music that sounds like a blender on high speed. Truly, a gift that keeps on giving.. Fact: Egypt is known for its rich history, but who knew its soundtrack would resemble a rock concert with a malfunctioning sound system? Talk about a new era of protest music!.
• Headline: He Wrote 200,000 Books (but Computers Did Some of the Work). Impact: The professor's algorithm-driven book production could eventually lead to a dystopian future where people just read a computer-generated summary of life instead of experiencing it. Just think: a world where the greatest novel ever written is 'How to Avoid Writing.'. Fact: In the age of algorithms, the only thing more impressive than writing 200,000 books is the sheer number of people who will still consider reading the same self-help book over and over again!.