When to Rob a Bank: ...And 131 More Warped Suggestions and Well-Intended Rants (33 page)

BOOK: When to Rob a Bank: ...And 131 More Warped Suggestions and Well-Intended Rants
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Index

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abortion, 65–66, 288

Absolute Poker website, 154–58

academia:

      
bribing kids, 337–40

      
school open house, 219–20

      
teacher cheating, 103–4, 160–61

      
tenure, 16–19

Adams, Brandon, 193–94

addictions, rational, 92–94

advice, best, 347–50

African women, survey of, 237

airports, shutting down, 21–23

airport security, 5–6, 11, 108–9, 251–53

Akerlof, George, 162

Allie (high-end call girl), 261–67

altruism, 324–28

Altucher, James, 196–98

anchoring, 309

animated films, voices in, 305–7

animus, discrimination theory, 321–22

anti-fraud measures, 106

aptonyms, 43–47

Armstrong, Lance, 153

Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem, 29

Arum, Bob, 72–73

Asian tsunami, 325–26

assets, non-fungible, 68

athletes:

      
gambling on, 73

      
income taxes of, 72–74

aviation congestion, 21–23

baby formula, 303–5

backgammon, 195–98

Badenhausen, Kurt, 74

Baltimore Sun, The,
233

bank robberies, 223–26

baseball, steroids, 152–53

baseballs, autographed, 80–81

Becker, Gary, 9–10, 92–94

behavioral economics, 120, 122, 308–9

Belichick, Bill, 149–50, 208–9

Berlin brothel, 173

Bertrand, Marianne, 347

Betjeman, John, 282

Bing, Stanley, 277

bin Laden, Osama, 57–59

bird-watching, 286–87

blackjack, 189–91

bling, 184

blogs, 1–4, 37

      
as kaleidoscopes, 271

“blood injuries,” 148–49

Bloomberg, Michael, 240

Blount, Roy Jr., 217

Bolt, Usain, 74

books, 14–16

      
about business, 283–87

      
bullshit in titles, 276–77, 285

      
diet, 117

      
fake memoirs, 146–48

      
God in titles, 285–87

      
on iPad, 124–25

bowling, 204–6

Boxer, Barbara, 51

boxing, 72–73

Boxwell Brothers, 46

Braga, Anthony, 246

Bratton, Bill, 163

Broderick, Matthew, 101–2

“broken windows” theory of crime, 163

Brooks, Arthur, 329–31

Brown, Philip H., 326

bullshit, in book titles, 276–77, 285

Bunning, Jim, 58

Burress, Plaxico, 216, 239, 240–41

bus, boarding, 143–46

Bush, George W., 51, 108, 136

Caesars Entertainment, 126–27

Caesar’s Palace, 189–91

“Captain Steve,” 82–86

Carnegie, Andrew, 16

carnivores, 179–84

cars:

      
child safety seats, 103–6

      
conspicuous consumption, 184–85

      
incivility in driving, 161–64

      
prices of, 54–57

Carson, Rachel, 181

Case, Justin, 46

Castro, Jesus “Manny” Jr., 248–49

chain letters, 141–42

Champagne, Dom Perignon, 40

charitable giving:

      
disasters, 324–28

      
street handouts, 328–37

cheating:

      
to be hot, 135–37

      
and “blood injuries,” 148–49

      
fake memoirs, 146–48

      
how not to cheat, 153–55

      
as human nature, 135

      
Mumbai train system, 140–41

      
at poker, 153–58

      
in self-reporting, 137–40

      
in sports, 148–50

      
on taxes, 11–14, 72–74, 122, 158–60

      
by teachers, 103–4, 160–61

chess, 196–98

Chicago Tribune,
poll, 279

chicken, rancid, 307–11

chicken wings, prices of, 75–77

child abduction, 133

children, bribing, 337–40

child safety seats, 103–6

China:

      
crime in, 226–28

      
earthquake in, 324–28

      
infant formula in, 303–5

Clemens, Roger, 149, 150

climate change, 179–84

Clinton, Hillary, 51

Coca-Cola, formula of, 59–60

Cohn, Alain, 228–29

Coinstar, 64

Collins, Jim, 283–84

Congress, U.S.:

      
and bin Laden bounty, 57–59

      
and IRS, 12–14

      
tax code written by, 158–60

conspicuous consumption, 184–85

contests, 91

      
addictions, 92–94

      
motto for U.S., 96–99

      
rigged, 136

      
Twitter, 94–96

Cook, Phil, 246

Cope, Myron, 215, 216

corporate sponsorships, 81

cover-ups, 121, 157

Cowen, Tyler, 329, 331–33

Cowher, Bill, 218

Craig, Larry, 45

crime:

      
and abortion, 288

      
bank robberies, 223–26

      
“broken windows” theory of, 163

      
burglary, 242

      
child abduction, 133

      
in China, 226–28

      
gun deaths, 245–51

      
and gun laws, 243–45

      
intruders, 241–43

      
priming criminals, 228–29

      
prison sentences, 128, 224, 242, 245, 248, 260

      
street gangs, 229–36, 246–47, 248–49

      
and
The Wire,
229–33

      
volatile rates of, 244

Cuban, Mark, 329, 333

cyclists, Tour de France, 151–53

Cyrus, Miley, 306

Daily Show, The,
273–74

Dal Bó, Ernesto, 33–34

Daly, John, 277

dangerous activities:

      
horseback riding, 101–3

      
obesity as result of, 116–19

      
walking drunk, 101

Daschle, Tom, 158, 160

Dawkins, Richard, 286

decision making, 120–21, 208–9

democracy, alternative to, 29–31

Dennett, Daniel, 286

dental wisdom, 275–76

diapers, cloth vs. disposable, 167

diminishing marginal returns, 203

disasters, and charitable giving, 324–28

discrimination, statistical, 321–22

divorce, statistics on, 345

Dohmen, Thomas, 212

Doleac, Jennifer, 320–21

Donohue, John, 288

doomsday prophets, 109–10

doping, in Tour de France, 151–53

driving:

      
and the environment, 166–67

      
incivility in, 161–64

drugs, prescription, prices of, 51–54

Duke, Annie, 188

Duncan, Arne, 103–4

Duskiewicz, Bernie, 348–49

ecological invalidity, 335

economics:

      
behavioral, 120, 122, 206, 308–9

      
invisible hand in, 315

      
morality vs., 288

      
visible hand in, 319–22

      
writing about, 287–88

Edlin, Aaron, 88

Ehrenreich, Barbara, 329, 333–34

Ehrlich, Paul, 109, 114

Eikenberry (funeral director), 46

Endangered Species Act, 165–66

Engelberger, Perfect, 40

environment:

      
cloth vs. disposable diapers, 167

      
and conspicuous consumption, 184–85

      
and driving, 166–67

      
eating meat, 179–84

      
Endangered Species Act, 165–66

      
global warming, 87–89, 179–84

      
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 171–72, 177, 180

      
locavores, 168–72

      
and packaging, 175–78

      
paper vs. plastic bags, 167

      
petroleum extraction, 109–16

      
Prius “green halo,” 185

      
and profitability, 172–74

      
saving the rain forest, 174–75

      
veganism, 179–84

Ericsson, Anders, 199, 201

escort (high-end call girl), 261–67

evaluation function (EV), 197

experts, ten thousand hours of practice, 199, 201–2

Fanning, Dakota, 305

fear of strangers, 130–33

Feinstein, Dianne, 53

Feldman, Paul, 69

feminist movement, 346–47

Ferraz, Claudio, 33

films, animated, 305–7

Finan, Frederico, 33

first-grade data hound, 219–20

fishing, 348–49

flight attendants, 19–20

food:

      
chicken wings, 75–77

      
decayed, 177

      
deliciousness of, 170

      
kiwifruits, 77–80

      
locavores, 168–72

      
nutritional value of, 170

      
and obesity, 116–18

      
packaging of, 175–78

      
poor service, 272–73

      
rancid chicken, 307–11

      
shrimp, 341–44

      
transportation inefficiencies of, 170–72

      
wasting, 177–78

football:

      
Immaculate Reception, 216

      
loss aversion, 206–9

      
Pittsburgh Steelers, 212–19

      
rookie symposium, 239–41

Fox, Kevin, 253

Frakes, Michael, 117

Frankfurt, Harry, 276

Freakonomics
(Levitt & Dubner), 1–2, 37, 40, 54, 69, 101, 105, 135, 160, 223, 253–4, 261, 274, 277, 280, 297–98, 305, 322, 351

Freakonomics.com, 1–4, 8, 233

Freakonomics radio, 268–69

Frederick, Shane, 341–43

Freed, Pam, 342

Friedman, Milton, 23

Frost, Robert, 218

Fryar, Irving, 239–40

Fryer, Roland, 228, 288, 328–29, 337, 339

Fuller, Thomas, 194–95

Gacy, John Wayne Jr., 39

Gagné, Éric, 149

gambling:

      
on athletes, 73

      
backgammon, 195–98

      
blackjack, 189–91

      
on horse racing, 191, 220–22

      
how not to cheat, 153–55

      
Internet poker, 127–30, 157

      
on newspaper circulation, 233

      
one card away from final table, 192–95

      
Rochambeau (Rock, Paper, Scissors), 188–89

      
on teams, 125–26

      
unbreakable record, 192

      
World Series of Poker, 187–88, 192–95

GAME (Gang Awareness Through Mentoring and Education), 248–49

gas, moratorium on, 311–14

gas prices, 86–90

Gates, Bill, 16

Geiger, Bernice, 224

Geithner, Tim, 158

gender identity, 228

Gladstone, Bernard, 258, 259

global warming, 88–89, 179–84

Gly-Oxide, 275–76

God, in book titles, 285–87

Goeree, Jacob, 31

Goldstein, Dan, 335

golf, 198–206

Goodall, Chris, 167

Good to Great
(Collins), 283–84, 285

Goolsbee, Austan, 160

Gordon, Phil, 187–89, 192, 193

Goss, Pat, 200–201

government:

      
and gambling income, 129

      
paying politicians, 32–36

      
voting mechanisms, 29–31

Greatest Good, 28, 300–301

Greene, Mean Joe, 216

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 171–72, 177

Grossman, Michael, 116

Gruber, Jonathan, 117

Grzelak, Mandi, 268–69

guns:

      
anonymous tips about, 247

      
athletes carrying concealed weapons, 240–41

      
concealed weapons laws, 242

      
D.C. ban on, 243–45

      
deaths from, 245–51

      
illegal use of, 245

      
ownership of, 245

      
shooting intruders with, 241–43

Hagen, Ryan, 314–19

happiness, 122–23, 344–47

Harold’s Chicken Shack, 75–77

Harris, Franco, 216

Hatcher, Teri, 305

hate mail, cost of, 49–51

health care:

      
British National Health Service, 26–29

      
decisions in, 122

Hemenway, David, 249–50

Henderson, Kaya, 160

herd mentality, 143–46

Hitchens, Christopher, 286

hoaxes, 282–83

Holmes, Santonio, 214–16

home, building your own, 170

home field advantage, 209–12

homelessness, 330–31

horseback riding, 101–3

horse racing, 220–22

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