TEXT OF STORY
BOB MOON: As we wrap things up on this Friday, let’s take a moment to review. Not the major news of the week, but the items that didn’t quite make the headlines. Courtesy of Brendan Newnam, Rico Gagliano and select members of the Marketplace staff.
Rico Gagliano: George Judson, managing editor, what story are you going to be talking about this weekend?
George Judson:Angry snowmen.
Gagliano: What do snowmen have to be angry about right now? This is the best year ever for them.
Judson:Well, they’re standing outside the state capitol in Michigan, where legislators have to raise taxes to cover the budget. Protesters showed up, they built anti-tax snowmen. One held a sign that said, “I’m mad and I vote.”
Gagliano: Do snowmen actually have a vote in Michigan?
Judson: They may now.
Brendan Newnam: Amy Scott, New York bureau chief, what’s your story?
Amy Scott: Designer abductions.
Newnam: Is this a new store or a new club?
Scott: Well, it’s a new French company that will allow people to pay about $1,200 bucks to be kidnapped.
Newnam: What? Who would use such a service?
Scott: Apparently, it’s corporate executives who are, I guess, tired of bungee jumping, so they’ll pay for the adrenaline rush of being bound and gagged and held for up to 11 hours.
Newnam: So this raises the question: what does the executive of the kidnapping company do for thrills?
Scott: I don’t know, goes on vacation to Hawaii?
Newnam: Yeah, like, plays horse shoes, has a light beer.
Gagliano: Stacey Vanek-Smith, senior reporter, what story are you going to be talking about this weekend?
Stacey Vanek-Smith: Well, a Bollywood film maker is offering $10,000 to anyone who can sit through his horror movie called “Phoonk 2” and make it through to the end without freaking out and leaving.
Gagliano: “Phoonk 2,” the sequel to “Phoonk.”
Vanek-Smith: Yeah, the sequel to “Phoonk 1.”
Gagliano: So it’s that scary? Is it like two solid hours of Congress trying to pass a bill?
Vanek-Smith: Yeah, “Phoonk” actually translates to “C-SPAN.”
Gagliano: I can’t watch anymore!!!!
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
