The Five Dumbest Ideas Of The Week

By Stephanie B. Goldberg

This week we salute the recession's contribution to dumb ideas, born out of desperation and way too much free time.

1. British Airways apparently missed the memo that, by definition, work is not something you do for free. The top brass wants its workforce of 40,000 to kick in up to a month's pay to put the company in the black.

The only consolation is that the company's CEO waived his bonus last year, which leaves him with a measly base salary of approximately $1.2 million.

2. Headhunter Joe Sales was out of a job when he came up with the idea for the iTie - a men's tie with an itty bitty pocket in the back for your IPod, ID card, business cards or M&Ms. His initial investment was $25,000. We think it's an improvement over this, but not by much.

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3. You're 18, you need money for tuition, and Denny's isn't hiring.

4. Then there's do-it-yourself dentistry, which not surprisingly has been popular in the UK for some time. The use of power tools and oven cleaner is not recommended.

5. Organ donation is so passe.

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The Five Dumbest Ideas Of The Week appears in this space every Friday. Stephanie welcomes your comments.