Lest you focus just on the more serious stories in the financial press, such as how eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) is struggling, or how Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN) is thriving, or how Wall Street is cheating you, here's a brief recap of some of the more unusual pieces of financial news out there:
- If delivery specialists FedEx (NYSE:FDX) or United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) are looking for a new marketing angle, they might want to run with this story: It seems that a letter mailed from New Jersey to Oregon through the U.S. mail took 22 years to reach its destination.
- Krispy Kreme (NYSE:KKD) has seen its tasty offerings linked with good health in an interesting way. The latest installment of North Carolina State University's annual "Krispy Kreme Challenge" charity run featured 5,000 participants who ran two miles to a Krispy Kreme donut store, ate a dozen donuts each, and then ran back. The running reportedly burned 400 calories, while the donuts added 2,400 back. McDonald's and Burger King (NYSE:BKC) might want to explore some related options.
- Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and other soft drink purveyors might want to wait and see how popular a new soda in India proves to be before attempting to copy and market a version of their own. The issue? Well, it's made from cow urine (or, in slightly more appetizing phrasing, "cow water").
- A little more money invested in public schools and math classes might pay off in the long run. It seems that 375 teachers in Dallas were laid off in an effort to offset an $84 million budget deficit. It seems that the budget shortfall was blamed on a math error -- a "massive budget miscalculation." Ironically, I suspect that many of the laid-off faculty were math teachers.
- In what could be a sign of the next stage of the real estate bust, a reporter for the New York Daily News was able to steal legal title to the Empire State Building after walking into New York City's property-ownership office with a fake purchase agreement. Fay Wray, star of the original "King Kong" movie, was a witness on the document, but it was still accepted.
Enough silliness, though. We at the Fool aim "to educate, amuse, and enrich." I invite you to read any other article in Fooldom for at least a little education and perhaps some enrichment, as well. Maybe start with this important piece about the mistake that can cost you a fortune.
