Why Kamikaze Pilots Wear Helmets???

This was a great read. Its an economist who tries to be funny by answering interesting daily life questions and wonderings. The author is Robert Frank, the Professor of Management and Professor of Economics at Cornell University's School of Management. Just look at the questions he tries to answer and you know its a good read already:

• Why does a US$500 tuxedo rent for US$90 a day while a US$20,000 car rents for only US$40?
• Why do female models earn so much more than male models?
• Why might retailers deliberately hammer dents into their own appliances?
• Why do the keypad buttons of drive-up cash machines have Braille dots?
• Why are child safety seats required in cars but not in airplanes?
• Why are whales, but not chickens, in danger of extinction?
• Why is there a light in your refrigerator but not in your freezer?
• Why do 24-hour convenience stores have locks on their doors?
• Why are newspapers, but not soft drinks, sold in vending machines that allow customers to take more units than they paid for?
• Why are brown eggs more expensive than white ones, even though the two types taste the same and have identical nutritional value?

My favourite chapter is in relationships where he tries to answer: why it is easier to find a partner when you already have one; and why are there so many dumb blonde jokes when research shows that attractive people are generally more intelligent than others, hence blondes should be considered as more intelligent as they are generally perceived to be more attractive. My other favourite topic was: Why did Kamikaze pilots wear helmets????

The Economic Naturalist
(Why Economics Explains Almost Everything) by Robert H Frank
Virgin Books Publications (UK)
Basic Books (USA) 2007 / 2008