Normally when people think about the economy improving they refer back to the housing market and consumer confidence index for support on the matter. Instead of sifting through all of that coma-inducing economic data, take a second to think about these weird signs of unexpected economic recovery: men are buying new underwear, RV manufacturers are doing better, more couples are splitting up, facelifts are seeing a lift, and utilities are losing their best customers.
While these are not the first signs of economic recovery that come to mind, each one does offer a glimpse of hope into economic recovery. Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve Chairman, pointed to men buying new underwear as a sign of economic growth (when the economy tanked in 2009, sales on boxers and underwear fell 2.5 percent). But today, underwear sales are up. In tough times couples who wanted to call it quits realized that divorce was expensive, so when the economy took a turn for the worse, unhappy couples ended up putting up with each other for a little longer. Now they can rejoice in never spending another second together.
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