Spelade
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In 1975 a right-wing loon purchased 300 acres of swampland outside Cape Canaveral with the dream of building a theme park recreating the experience of a US Special Forces barracks in a rural Vietnamese hamlet at the height of the war. Visitors could take turns firing a machine gun at real Vietnamese refugees play-acting as Viet Cong, while replica thatched huts dispensed souvenirs and snacks. Oh, and there were punji stakes. Real punji stakes. And a lot of barbed wire.
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Will the US mint a trillion-dollar coin? Probably not, but in 2001 the tiny island nation (I know, I know) of Vanuatu created $300 million overnight by quadrupling its sovereign debt using as its stated collateral a 182-pound ruby that may or may not actually have existed.
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Albania emerged from one-party rule under Enver Hoxha as the poorest and most backward Eastern European state. Hoxha bequeathed Albanians 700,000 concrete pillbox forts and a complete lack of familiarity with even the basics of a cash economy.
Inexperienced in the ways of capitalism, Albanians didn't realize 100% monthly interest on a bank deposit is a red flag. So in 1996 the entire country fell into a mania for investments that turned out to be pyramid schemes. When I say the whole country I mean 2/3 of the GDP of Albania. 95%+ of all adults invested everything, then sold their homes and farms to invest more.
Minicasts are short stories for fans of quick, to-the-point podcasts and as a nice change of pace from the longer full episodes of Mass for Shut-ins.
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