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A Designer's War on Misleading Parking Signs
The story of a girl who got too many parking tickets, and dared to dream of a better tomorrow.
Priceonomics Blog
Priceonomics turns data into great stories. We come up with interesting topics, analyze data, and turn the insights into amazing content!
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Visit priceonomics.com → RSS feedOn Hacker News Feb 2012 – May 2021
Society, Policy & Culture 65Tech Industry & Business 41History & Retro Computing 27Life, Learning & Writing 17Career & Management 10Science & Space 7
2
Is Every Speed Limit Too Low?
Americans nearly universally speed, and excess speed is a factor in many accidents. But what if higher speed limits made roads safer?
3
The Man Who Smuggles Trader Joe’s into Canada
Michael "Pirate Joe" Hallatt and his unmarked white van are Canada's number-one supplier of Trader Joe's items. And, so far, Trader Joe's hasn't been able to stop him.
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Online Dating and the Death of the 'Mixed-Attractiveness' Couple
People tend to date people who are just as attractive as they are. And thanks to the rise of online dating, that is only becoming more true.
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Why Do Tourists Visit Ancient Ruins Everywhere Except the United States?
In 1250, the southeastern United States was home to a city larger than London whose people built 200 huge, earthen pyramids. So why do so few people know about it?
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When Lobbying was Illegal
Although lobbyists' influence seems inevitable, in the 1800s, several states banned lobbying outright.
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Ranking TV Shows That Got Canceled
What do the TV shows Firefly, Twin Peaks, and Freaks and Geeks all have in common?
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How Mickey Mouse Evades the Public Domain
Every time Disney’s beloved mouse is about to enter the public domain, U.S. copyright law magically changes. Does he deserve special protection, or should he be relinquished to society?
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How Breakfast Became a Thing
Do you think breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Then you fell for an ad campaign designed in 1944 to sell more cereal.
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How Police Officers Seize Cash from Innocent Americans
Under civil forfeiture laws, police officers can take money from people with no proof of any wrongdoing, and without filing criminal charges. How does this work, and what happens to the money?
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The Fining of Black America
We analyzed the cities most likely to generate substantial revenues from fines. The best indicator that a government will levy excessive fines? If a large proportion of the city's citizens are Black.
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Evicted in San Francisco
The story of one elderly woman's eviction in San Francisco.
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How an Ad Campaign Made Lesbians Fall in Love with Subaru
It's a popular stereotype that lesbians drive Subarus. What's less well known is that Subaru cultivated that image—and made history in the process.
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The Time Everyone “Corrected” the World’s Smartest Woman (2015)
In 1990, Marilyn vos Savant correctly answered a probability puzzle in her column for Parade Magazine. And then, the world called her an idiot.
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How A Lawsuit Over Hot Coffee Helped Erode the 7th Amendment
In 1992, a woman sued McDonald's because her coffee was too hot. It's considered a prime example of a greedy lawsuit. But the truth is much more complicated.
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The IIT Entrance Exam
This is the story of India's Joint Entrance Examination, the yearly attempt to pick out the ten thousand most intelligent students in a country of 1.2 billion people.
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The Great Toilet Paper Scare of 1973 (2014)
Following a poorly-timed Johnny Carson joke in 1973, millions of Americans hoarded every toilet paper roll on the market and induced a mass hysteria.
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The Linguistics of Writing an Email Like a Boss
Finally, statistical proof that bosses write the darndest emails.
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How the .0001% Made Its Money
America’s .0001% is becoming more meritocratic - to an extent.
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The Business of Fake Hollywood Money
Making fake cash is a risky line of work -- even if it's as a certified Hollywood prop master.
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Is Wine Bullshit?
How should we understand the robust findings that suggest that the price of wine is not only uncorrelated with how much people enjoy it, but that the different tastes we describe in wine may all be in our heads?
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Why Thieves Steal Soap
Stealing soap is almost as good as stealing cash.
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How to Be a Lawyer Without Going to Law School
A handful of lawyers practice law in the United States without a law degree, bypassing three years of hell (and thousands of dollars in college debt). Here's how.
27
The San Francisco Rent Explosion
An apartment in San Francisco costs how much?! Surely you jest, Priceonomics.
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How a College Student Used Creative Commons to Dominate Political Photography
Gage Skidmore has photographed nearly every presidential candidate since 2008 — and by giving away all of his images for free, he has quickly become the Internet's most prominent political photographer.
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Where People Spend the Most and Least on Rent in America
The places in America where you'll spend a lot of your income on rent. And places where you won't.