In my high school, I seldom engaged in sandwich or cookie trading: My mom-packed lunch beat the socks off the cafeteria “food”, and suited my preferences better than what the other “home-lunched” kids got. We did sometimes swap fruit though.
The phrase was popularized in the United States by Mark Twain (among others), who attributed it to the British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
I fell for this little incorrect fun fact, too. I even repeated it, to my later shame. Make no mistake, a lot of coffee gets bought and sold. Depending on the way you measure it, coffee is right up there in the commodities most bought and sold — well, bought — by me, and I doubt I’m unusual in that regard. But #2 in the world? Not even close.
But it does fuel something I suspect: That the #1 and #2 most traded commodities in the world are information and misinformation, and not necessarily in that order.
As a kid, I never understood trading desserts. In order to get your dessert, I have to give up mine, and that just didn’t compute.
As a bullied kid, I really never understood trading desserts – I’d have to give up mine without getting one in return! (This, by the by, is how I came to love the days when the cafeteria served chicken nuggets and chocolate chip cookies in the same meal. The nuggets came with honey, which I poured on the cookie, and was really quite yummy, but the bullies thought it was gross and so didn’t steal it.)
Concretionist over 4 years ago
In my high school, I seldom engaged in sandwich or cookie trading: My mom-packed lunch beat the socks off the cafeteria “food”, and suited my preferences better than what the other “home-lunched” kids got. We did sometimes swap fruit though.
rshive over 4 years ago
Data sources are interesting things. If you pick the right one, you can get the right answer.
whahoppened over 4 years ago
Like, the end of this pen will write anything you want it to.
asrialfeeple over 4 years ago
Ask the right questions …
ArtisticArtemis over 4 years ago
The phrase was popularized in the United States by Mark Twain (among others), who attributed it to the British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
Richard S Russell Premium Member over 4 years ago
I wonder if the Bolivian Ministry of Economics ever feels abashed that coffee is only the country’s #2 cash crop.
Holilubillkori Premium Member over 4 years ago
Key lime pie… Delish!
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] over 4 years ago
Blog PostsFrazz13 hrs ·
I fell for this little incorrect fun fact, too. I even repeated it, to my later shame. Make no mistake, a lot of coffee gets bought and sold. Depending on the way you measure it, coffee is right up there in the commodities most bought and sold — well, bought — by me, and I doubt I’m unusual in that regard. But #2 in the world? Not even close.
But it does fuel something I suspect: That the #1 and #2 most traded commodities in the world are information and misinformation, and not necessarily in that order.
LrdSlvrhnd over 4 years ago
As a kid, I never understood trading desserts. In order to get your dessert, I have to give up mine, and that just didn’t compute.
As a bullied kid, I really never understood trading desserts – I’d have to give up mine without getting one in return! (This, by the by, is how I came to love the days when the cafeteria served chicken nuggets and chocolate chip cookies in the same meal. The nuggets came with honey, which I poured on the cookie, and was really quite yummy, but the bullies thought it was gross and so didn’t steal it.)