Yesterday, a U.S. Navy destroyer helped the crew of a North Korean freighter recapture their vessel from a band of marauding pirates off the coast of Somalia. It’s an unusual news item, not because piracy is rare — around the world, pirate attacks have surged over the last decade — but because we’re more used to hearing about the dire . . .
August 24 is the day in 1989 when then-MLB commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti announced that Pete Rose was banned from baseball for gambling. His apologies are now available on eBay.
July 16 is National Get Out of the Doghouse Day, a stunt created by a motivational speaker named Heidi Richards to promote her flower business. Let the commoditization of guilt bloom.
We’ve decided to begin a new tradition here at Freakonomics in which we call attention to the diversity and richness of America’s unique capacity for celebration (and self-interest) by highlighting the official (or unofficial) holiday associated with each day of the year (and yes, there is at least one holiday for each day of the year). And so … drumroll . . .
Here’s an agreeable way to usher in Mother’s Day: A study released by The University of Melbourne’s School of Behavioural Science shows that a significant number of college students consider their mothers to be the single most significant person in their lives. Out of a survey of university freshmen, 40% listed their moms as the most important and influential person . . .
The average U.S. retail price for a dozen large eggs was $1.51 in the first quarter, up 33 cents, or 28%, from the fourth quarter and 43 cents higher than a year ago … Behind the higher prices: Feed. Rising corn and soybean prices have led to increased costs for feed. The increase is in large part because of rising . . .