Sunday 27 February 2011

Economics explain almost everything

Why are all cabs in Manhattan in New York yellow, while most cabs in other towns are i a variety of colours?

Yellow is thought to be the most visible colour. Specific to Manhattan is the custom of catching a cab as it cruises by, rather than phoning and ordering it.  Therefore all taxis are painted this colour to be more visible for users.
In other towns taxis are usually ordered in advance so they don't have to be able to draw attention as much as in Manhattan.

Tuesday 22 February 2011

Economics explains almost everything

Why do female models earn so much more than male models?

First at all female models receive premium pay because women's fashion is a vastly bigger business than men's fashion.  For comparison women in the West spend more than twice as much on clothing each year as men do so many more female models are needed.
Competition is much harder for women so the prize for winning is being high paid.
Female models are also much more recognizable because they star in clothing and cosmetics  advertisements, they attend fashion shows etc. That makes them more attractive for companies that hire them and makes their salaries go up.

American Forbes Magazine published the top hundred highest-paid celebrities 2007 and five of the world's supermodels were there but no male model. For comparison Gisele Bundchen earned in 2005 more than $ 15 million and another one, the very popular Heidi Klum, earned $7,5 million the same year.

Monday 21 February 2011

Why did the USA find fighting with Vietnam difficult?

This is for sure a very interesting question because it was the first lose in USA history. So why did it happen?

There might be several reasons why finally the USA lost the Vietnam War.
First, and in my opinion one of the most important, is the well known fact that it is always easier to defend your country because of strong motivation, than to attack a foreign nation. In this case the motivation of the Vietnamese army was much stronger than the USA soldiers mostly because of the fact that in the case of losing the enemy will control their country.
Another thing was that USA soldiers were foreigners. Hardly any of them knew anything about Vietnam and none of them were able to speak Vietnamese. They were fighting in unknown terrain and most of them were not trained for defending against guerilla warfare. The case was also about the climate which the American army wasn't prepared for. Such heat, humidity and new conditions made them fight worse.
But they didn't really care about preparation before coming because they planned to stay in Vietnam just for a while. The war lasted longer than expected, making the American people tired and homesick, which had a big influence on their level of involvement. They didn't really have strong drive, they just stayed there because of coercion. So with time they started to take drugs which were very common and easily available. They stopped caring about the war, which had crippling effects.
They also lost because of a Guerilla war that they hadn't expected. American troops were mostly supposed to fight NVA (North Vietnamese Army) but finally they had to stay and defend against guerilla warfare which was much harder because the enemy knew the terrain better, while for them it was absolutely new. The main problem in this case was based on the fact that the USA army didn't exactly know who to shoot. Vietnamese soldiers didn't vary so much from civilians so it was nearly impossible to check who was really who. Because of that, lots of innocent people died and war from the American people's point of view started to look inappropriate and cruel which soon caused the American government to be very unpopular.
In fact the USA didn't even have a lot support from allies such as South Korea, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. The number of soldiers that were sent for help was ridiculously small. The number of Americans who were killed during the war was ten times bigger than the combined total of soldiers killed of all the contributing allies.

Thursday 17 February 2011

Economics explains almost everything

Why are brown eggs more expensive than white ones in some countries?

According to the  US egg Nutrition Center in Washington, DC, neither the taste of an egg nor its nutritional quality depends on the colour of its shell. So why then are the prices different?
Production costs of brown eggs are a bit higher that white ones so it is obvious that we have to pay more. Why? Because hens that produce brown eggs are slightly bigger so they have more body mass and they need more food (the company has to spend more money on them).
In sum, unless some people want to buy brown eggs and are willing to pay more, they won't be offered for sale. 

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Economics explains almost everything

Why do many bars charge customers for water but give them peanuts for free?

Almost everybody has had some situation where they received a full bowl of peanuts for free but had to pay for water which we know is less expensive. Shouldn't it be the other way around?
Not exactly, because someone who has eaten salted peanuts usually will need something to drink, and their decision will be between water and alcoholic fluids, which are more expensive. By making the price of water higher it is more likely for the customer to choose alcohol, which means that the bar will earn more.

Tuesday 15 February 2011

Causes of Vietnam war

  1. American anti-communism - America's involvement in Vietnam started because it was afraid of communism. As soon as the war broke out between south and north they started to be afraid of Vietnam becoming a communist country because this political system would start to dominate in most Asian countries. (according to domino theory). The domino theory suggests that if one country in south-east Asia is under the control of the communists, then consequently this system will spread out to all countries around, just like in a domino game. (if one piece falls, it starts the whole series 'falling')
  2. War between North and South - this conflict involved the South (Republic of Vietnam) and the North (Democratic Republic of Vietnam). The South, which seemed to be against communism, was supported by the USA and their allies South Korea, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. The North was supported by communist countries such as the Soviet Union. As soon as South Vietnam started to lose America gave them big financial support which very quickly proved to be not enough.  They then gave them military advisers, but as this still didn't help they then started to send American soldiers. 
  3. French return in 1945 and Vietnamese resistance - 2 September 1945 the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was created when the Viet Minh overthrew the government. Vietnam was then a French colony but France didn't even think about resigning from the Indochina. As a result they was bloody fighting for several years. In the final stage of this war France had USA support including American airman and military advisers. At the end Vietnam defeated France so they signed a peace treaty with communists from the Viet Minh. After this Vietnam was divided into two parts.

Monday 14 February 2011

Starting a business

Recently I've done some reaserch about two very popular English banks which are supposse to help people to set up a new business.
Headlines of leaflets says: "The best in helping you to become your own boss", but which one really tries to help us the most? I will help you find out.

The first bank I took into consideration, Lloyds, propose us a business manager that you can make an apointment with and that will be on hand to offer you some support and quidance. They advertise: "we've many years experience of helping new businesses and we understand some chalenges you may face". This seem for me to be very important because profecional advices are always very helpfull and can influence to our choices.
I can also mention that this bank has one of the largest branch networks in the UK,  so there should be always one nearby. Appart form this you have 18 months' free business banking which sounds really encouragingly. Even after this period come to an end they still will help you with saving money on bank charges. 
Next positive thing is that they can arrange an insurance by Allianz Insurance plc which will cover the risk that your business faces. This is decision that should be made by everyone because life is unpredictable and it is always better to have an insurance. 
At least I can add that Lloyds offer totally free and easy access to your account so you can control everythink online. 

"We'll help you get started and turn your idea into reality". That is how Barclays, the second bank that I made research about advertise. They propose help in creating the business plan, offer usefull contacts for people that could help and gives some advices how to be a prospective business owner. They stress: "Be realistic; Do something that you enjoy; Know market; Do the costing from the down". This all headlines might sounds trivial but seems to be very helpfull and realistic. 
Barclays can also offer you a money for setting up the business which for me is a big advantage that attracts lots of customers for choosing this bank.
Of course it has an internet accounts so you can check everything online.

This is all I could find about this two banks. I hope it's enough.

Sunday 13 February 2011

Economics explain almost everything

Why are the portraits on coins done in profile while those on paper money are full face?

It is very important that the person on the coin or paper money is recognizable. Putting the full face on a small coin wouldn't necessarily be effective, which is why the profile is used.

But if so why on the paper money do we have a full face?
It's to make it more difficult for coiners and avoid money counterfeiters.

Economics explain almost everything

Why are petrol caps on the driver's side of some cars but on the passenger's side of others?

If all cars had petrol caps on the same side, during busy times there would be huge traffic at the petrol station even if the other side of the pump was empty. Putting petrol caps on different sides reduces the posibility of waiting for fuel in a big queue.

Economics explain almost everything

Why are aluminium soft-drinks cans more expensive to produce than necessary?

Standard, tall, aluminium cans that are produced have about 30 per cent more aluminium than the shorter one with the same volume. But the trick is that people are more likely to buy these taller ones just because of the optical illusion, even if they contain exacly the same amount of liquid. Even though the shorter cans are cheaper to produce, sellers would earn less than producers of standard tall cans.

Friday 11 February 2011

Today's lesson

I am so excited because we have nearly finished and I have canceled my maths lesson so I have the time free. Just to please my tutor i would like to same that today we discuss the following:
  1. mind map for history
  2. macro economy policy. this includes the four objectives which are reduce inflation, reduce unemployment, increase GDP, increase export, reduce import
  3. there are two main policies: fiscal and monetary
  4. yesterday I want to supermarket doing research on products to help me discus elasticity
  5. my tutor said I did very well and that praise motivates me which is what HERZBERG said:

Economics explains almost everything

The first question is:
Why are males bigger than females in most vertebrate species?

It's quite easy to explain this in economics way because almost every vertebrate is having a battle to access females. The body mass helps them in the fight because it's obvious that the heavier male is the easier it is for him to win. Small males seldom gain access to female that is why the genetic code is passed mainly by big animal specimens.

Cash machine

Wednesday 9 February 2011

Mind mapping

I found this website very interesting: http://www.mindmeister.com/
I thing it might be very useful for people like me who has problems with ogranisation.
But I am not really sure what about this page: https://bubbl.us/

Economics explain almost everything

Why is milk sold in rectangular containers, while soft drinks are sold in round ones?

Economics explain almost everything

Why do 24-hour convenience stores have locks on their doors?

It's just cheaper to make all doors with locks, because they are sold more often with than without locks.
The second reason is that sometimes there are some cases that force the shop to close as for example shop assistant has to leave the store and there isn't anyone that can stand in for her.

Tuesday 8 February 2011

The clash - cover of polish singer

It's cover of polish alternative singer:


I wanted also to put the clash original video but I had some problem with this.

Economics explain almost everything

Why can laptop computers, but not most other appliances, operate on any country's electrical standard?

If you are traveling with a machine such as a television to a country with another electrical standard you must buy a transformer of power which means increasing demand for the company that produces them.
The laptop is the item which we very often take on our journey so carrying a bulky transformer would have been unacceptable. That is why laptops are the only objects that don't need transformers.

Economics explain almost everything

Why does a light come on when you open the refrigerator but not when you open the freezer?

Without doubt we use the frigde much more often than the freezer and that is why only the fridge has a light while it's open. The extra cost of adding it into the freezer for most people won't be worth paying.  The manufacturers aren't interested in producing such equipment which has a light in both the refrigerator and the freezer because this won't produce any income.
So as you can see it's all about the cost of installing a light that switches on automatically when you open the door of this kitchenware.

Monday 7 February 2011

"The river" - Bruce Springsteen

"Sideways"

I've just watched a film called "Sideways" which I found very interesting.
It tells a story of two very best friends and their journey through the vineyards just before one of them, Jack, gets married. They are thinking about having some free time and detaching from their routines, but as they spend more time together with lots of unexpected adventures on their way, they find out that they have no idea what to really expect from life.
This film seems for me to talk about the unfulfilled dreams of the main characters but it's also about getting through life and finding the meaning of existence. 
I like that it doesn't really have a full ending which helps us not to focus on the story but rather to look more inside the film, realize the real intention of Miles' friend, to see their relationship and the way they complete each other.
In my opinion this film is worth seeing and for someone like me who is keen on dramas and comedies it is an amazing combination of both. 
Sometimes it can be a bit quirky but as a whole it's fabulous and full of reflections.
I recommend this to anyone who is not likely to spend an evening with a superficial film.

Economics explain almost everything

Why are males bigger than females in most vertebrate species?

Most males are bigger than females just because of one simple but important reason. They have battles between each other to access females. The body mass helps them to win the fight, be a leader among males and pass on the genetical code. Small males seldom gain access to females, that's why most of them are rather big, or we can even say fat.
For example the albatross male is the same size as the female just because they are monogamous and they don't have to fight for females.

If you have any questions write comments.

Wednesday 2 February 2011

'It might get loud' - short film review

To improve my English I am going to do a film review of 'It might get loud'


'It might get loud' is a documentary which shows us the collaboration of three very famous, talented, passionate guitar players. They are all members of amazing rock bands: White Stripes, Led Zeppelin and U2. They are discussing electric guitars. All of them seem to be genius musicians who have devoted all their lives to playing this instrument.
For me it's also about showing the differences of three generations that come and play together, exchanging their points of view on music.