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I've always wondered...

If you’re like us, you’ve got a lot of questions about the small, simple, ubiquitous things in the world of business. Let's find the answers.

From This Collection

I've always wondered...

What's with those little seedless holiday tangerines?

by Mitchell Hartman
Dec 19, 2019
How an expensive specialty fruit for the holidays turn into a ubiquitous discount grocery staple year-round.
Are these tangerines? Or clementines? Or mandarins?
Georges Gobet/AFP via Getty Images
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I've always wondered...

How did letter paper come to be 8.5 x 11 inches in size?

by Jack Stewart
Nov 8, 2019
As part of our "I've Always Wondered" series, a listener asks why we've ended up with these arbitrary-seeming dimensions for office paper.
A vat man making paper in the mid-20th century.
Courtesy Georgia Tech Institute Communications
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I've always wondered...

Here's what happens to your unclaimed money — and how you can get it back

by Janet Nguyen
Oct 15, 2019
Uncashed checks, unused gift cards, and unredeemed insurance help make up the billions of dollars in unclaimed property overseen by all 50 states.
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I've always wondered...

Why is inflation necessary?

by Mitchell Hartman
Sep 12, 2019
A listener asks: “Wouldn't an economy without inflation make us all better off?”
Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images
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I've always wondered

Can the government's economic books be cooked?

by Mitchell Hartman
Jul 3, 2019
U.S. civil servants who collect and analyze statistics are effectively shielded from political pressure.
Central Press/Getty Images
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I've always wondered...

I’ve Always Wondered: How did pepper get married to salt?

by Renata Sago
Jun 14, 2019
Americans import more black pepper than anyone else. Some folks are mystified by that.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
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I've always wondered...

Airline tickets are priced to confuse

by Mitchell Hartman
Jan 9, 2019
Sometimes flying a longer distance is less expensive.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
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I've always wondered...

Why do gas prices end in 9/10 of a cent?

by Tommy Andres
Oct 11, 2018
...and everything else you've ever wondered about gas stations.
What's with the 9/10?
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News
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I've always wondered...

Which economic stats matter most?

by Mitchell Hartman
Jul 9, 2018
Our listener asks which economic statistics are the best predictors of future economic performance.
A financial professional loosk at his computer screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the end of the trading day Dec. 16, 2008 in New York City. 
Chris Hondros/Getty Images
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I've always wondered...

What's a trade war and are we in one?

by Tracey Samuelson
Jun 18, 2018
The definition is squishy, but most economists would probably agree we're not there yet.
A worker repairs shipping containers at the Port of Dalian in Liaoning Province, China, in 2013.
Feng Li/Getty Images
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