The Playboy Playmate Economic Indicator
November 28, 2011
And a few others you may not have heard of before:
ODD ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Can’t make heads or tails of the Dow or the GNP? Fear not—there are lots
of other economic “indicators” that tell us what the economy is doing.• Gorgeous Waiters/Waitresses. In cities like New York and Los Angeles, which are centers of fashion and the arts, waiters and waitresses can become better-looking in hard times, as would-be models, actors, and actresses have to take jobs waiting tables when their other, more glamorous gigs dry up.
• Playboy Playmates. In their groundbreaking 2004 study “Playboy Playmate Curves: Changes in Facial and Body Feature Preferences Across Social and Economic Conditions,” Terry Pettijohn and Brian Jungeberg argue that the magazine’s Playmate of the Year selections vary according to the performance of the economy. “When social and economic conditions were difficult, older, heavier, taller Playboy Playmates of the Year with larger waists, smaller eyes, larger waist-to-hip ratios, smaller bust-to-waist ratios, and smaller body mass index values were selected.”
• The Content of Military Recruitment TV Ads. In good times, when civilian jobs are plentiful, the military has to hustle to meet its recruiting numbers. In such times it runs TV ads that resemble action movies and video games, hoping to lure people into joining. In bad times, when jobs are scarce and the pool of potential recruits increases, the military can afford to be more picky: TV ads will show a more realistic picture of life in the armed forces, to discourage less-qualified candidates from applying.
• Shark Attacks. When the economy is bad enough, even man-eating sharks have trouble finding work. In 2008, for example, shark attacks in U.S. waters dropped to their lowest point since 2003. “If you have a reduction in the number of people in the water, you’re going to have a reduction in the opportunities for people and sharks to get together,” says George Burgess, who stud- ies shark attacks at the University of Florida. “I can’t help but think that contributing to the reduction may have been the reti- cence of some people to take holidays and go to the beach for eco- nomic reasons. We noticed similar declines during the recession that followed the events of 2001.”
That’s one more in our series of article excerpts from the brand new Uncle John’s 24-KARAT GOLD Bathroom Reader. Get more “Odd Economic Indicators,” and hundreds of other stories – at 30% off the usual price as part of our annual HOLIDAY SALE! And that’s 30% of ALL our books.
• Past excerpts can be found by hitting “Excerpts” in the tags blow this post.
I can’t wait to tell my wife I have to study all the Playmates to help sove the economic crisis!!
Just don’t tell her it was us who told you about it…