Archive for the ‘italy’ tag

The Geography of Gnomes #

May 30th, 2008 | In Worth Distraction 

Am I the only one who thinks it’s odd that that no gnomes live in France or Italy?

‘Poor’ Americans Get a Discount #

April 9th, 2008 | In Worth Knowing 

I’ll let Passport explain:

Harry’s Bar, the famous Venice restaurant where writer Ernest Hemingway used to hang out and sip martinis, is now offering a discount to “poor” American tourists who must contend with a weakened dollar, one that has resulted in horror stories about $40 ice creams and $10 bottles of water. A sign at Harry’s reads:

Harry’s Bar of Venice in an effort to make the American victims of subprime loans happier, has decided to give them a special 20% discount on all the items of the menu during the short term of their recovery.

A Perk of Obesity #

April 8th, 2008 | In Worth Knowing 

The detail I found most interesting among Gabriel Kahn’s annoyingly indignant profile of Italy’s broken justice system was this:

The sorry state of Italy’s prison infrastructure plays a role, too. Prosecutors have charged Salvatore Ferranti for being a henchman of one of Sicily’s fiercest crime families. But last month he was released from the slammer and given house arrest. The reason: He was too fat. The prison system didn’t have beds big enough to accommodate his 462-pound frame.

(via brijit)