A traveler wandering on an island inhabited entirely by cannibals comes upon a butcher shop. This shop specialized in human brains differentiated according to source. The sign in the shop read: Artists' Brains $9/lb Philosophers' Brains $12/lb Scientists' Brains $15/lb Economists' Brains $19/lb   Upon reading the sign, the traveler noted,

September 22, 1995 Turner sells out In between bankrolling sports franchises and unveiling new cable channels, media mogul Ted Turner found time to sell his broadcasting company to Time Warner Inc. The deal, initially inked on September 22, 1995, called for Time Warner to hand over $7.5 billion to create one of the world's largest media concerns,

September 19, 1778 Young nation gets a budget The Committee on Finance of the Continental Congress made history by presenting the nation's first budget on this day.   September 19, 1901 NYSE pays tribute to McKinley The New York Stock Exchange closed to honor the funeral of President William McKinley. McKinley, who had been shot on ...

A mathematician, a theoretical economist and an econometrician are asked to find a black cat (who doesn't really exist) in a closed room with the lights off: The mathematician gets crazy trying to find a black cat that doesn't exist inside the darkened room and ends up in a psychiatric hospital. The theoretical economist is unable to catch the ...

September 18, 1789 U.S takes first loan It was bound to happen sometime, and on September 18, 1789, with the nation's finances in something of a mess, the government took out its first loan. Under the supervision of newly appointed Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, the government took a little under a year to pay back the loan of $191, ...

A wealthy labor economist had an urge to have grandchildren. He had two daughters and two sons and none of them had gratified his desire for a grandchild. At the annual family gathering on Thanksgiving Day, he chided them gently to bless his old age with their progeny. ''But I haven't given up hope,'' he said, ''Yesterday I went to the bank and ...

September 17, 1868   Mint gets a name   The nation's six-year-old currency agency was officially christened as the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on this day.   September 17, 1968   LBJ goes after Chrysler   On September 17, 1968, an irate President Lyndon Johnson took Chrysler to task for its sky-high ...

An econometrician and an astrologer are arguing about their subjects. The astrologer says, ''Astrology is more scientific. My predictions come out right half the time. Yours can't even reach that proportion''. The econometrician replies, ''That's because of external shocks. Stars don't have those''.

September 16, 1903 Royce tests first gas engine Frederick Henry Royce, of Rolls-Royce Ltd., successfully tested his first gasoline engine on this day. The two-cylinder, 10hp engine was one of three experimental cars designed by Royce during the automobile's early years, when gasoline-powered engines competed on equal footing with electric and ...

An elderly economics professor is standing at the shallow end of the campus pool. A Coed is standing at the deep end taking pictures. She suddenly drops the camera into the pool. Then she motions for the professor to come to her. He goes and she asks him to retrieve the camera. He agrees and dives in and retrieve its.   Upon returning he ...

September 15, 1909 Ford sues Selden George Selden is rarely mentioned in accounts of automobile history, often lost among names like Ford, Daimler, and Cugnot. However, Selden reigned as the ''Father of the Automobile'' for almost 20 years, his name engraved on every car from 1895 until 1911. He held the patent on the ''Road Engine,'' which was ...

INTEREST GROUP ECONOMIST VIRUS - Divides your hard disk into hundreds of little units, each of which does practically nothing, but all of which claim to be the most important part of the computer.   ECONOMETRICIAN VIRUS - Sixty percent of the PCs infected will lose 38 percent of their data 14 percent of the time (plus or minus a 3.5 percent