If Greece and Germany Were a Couple….

hilarious depiction of Greece and Germany as a bickering couple:

Greece's New Currency

Greece is on its second bailout, with the possibility of a third bailout looming. The Guardian reports on a man in Greece who received groceries and tax services this month without spending a euro:

In return for his expert labour [as an electrician], Mavridis received a number of Local Alternative Units (known as tems in Greek) in his online network account. In return for the eggs, olive oil, tax advice and the rest, he transferred tems into other people's accounts.

Economists in Charge

We've noted in the past that various countries routinely elect economists to be president or prime minister -- a trend that has decidedly escaped the U.S.

We also released a podcast a while back called "What Would the World Look Like if Economists Were in Charge?" -- which, despite the title, was about the U.S. more than "the world." (Yes, I am as synecdochically myopic -- or is that myopically synecdochal? -- as any other American.)

Now, a British reader named Peter Bennett writes in with this challenge:

Looking forward to hearing your take on these new technocratic economists in charge in Italy and Greece.

Just how bad would things have to get in the U.S. before they'd call in the economists?

We will try to scare up a worthy contributor to answer both those questions in the near future.

FREAK-est Links

This week: Researchers say it pays to be loyal; are ovulating women better at detecting sexual orientation? Nathan Myhrvold on risk and the state of the Earth; a Gallup poll suggests slowing migration, and why your paycheck just might kill you.