Paying Zero in Hard Cash

According to Anand, the idea was first conceived by an Indian physics professor at the University of Maryland, who, in his travels around India, realized how widespread bribery was and wanted to do something about it. He came up with the idea of printing zero-denomination notes and handing them out to officials whenever he was asked for kickbacks as a way to show his resistance. Anand took this idea further: to print them en masse, widely publicize them, and give them out to the Indian people. He thought these notes would be a way to get people to show their disapproval of public service delivery dependent on bribes. The notes did just that. The first batch of 25,000 notes were met with such demand that 5th Pillar has ended up distributing one million zero-rupee notes to date since it began this initiative. Along the way, the organization has collected many stories from people using them to successfully resist engaging in bribery.

Photo Credit: 5th Pillar

via blogs.worldbank.org

The Want/Need Glass

Want/Need Glass designed by Inna Alesina, dishwasher-safe.

The small hole divides the volume of the glass into two parts: "need" (below the hole) and "want" (above the hole).

"Alesina Design, Inc. shall not be held responsible for ruined clothes as a result of misuse of this product."

From the comments section at Book of Joe, the final word on this has to be:

According to Aristotle, once your needs are met you should carefully examine your wants so that you can live the best life possible. As in I want to buy this glass but I don't need it and it won't improve my life.

Rear Window ... as Three's Company

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