Think the U.S. economy is problematic? It's nothing compared to the economic crisis in Zimbabwe.
Inflation is so bad—believed to be 50,000 percent annually—that Zimbabwe's central bank just began issuing notes worth 10,000,000 Zimbabwean dollars. Yes, 10 million bucks. That's the equivalent of 100 of the bills pictured.
Ten million dollars is believed to be the largest denomination of any currency in the world, but don't get too excited. At the current rate, it could be worthless in a few weeks. According to the BBC, one $10 million note (or bearer cheque, as its called) is worth less than $4 U.S. on the black market. That means the $100,000 cheque pictured is worth less than 4 U.S. pennies.
Gadling pointed us to a blog that describes Zimbabwe's rampant hyperinflation. The writer reports that the new $10,000,000 bill is the same color, layout and design as an old $20 bill (which expired in July). Fifteen months ago, that $20 bill was worth $0.025 USD; that same bill is now worth $0.00000005 USD. Hence, the $10 million note.
To illustrate what that means in daily life, here's how much it cost to buy a beer back in December.
Now, on to more Travel Tidbits …
• Intelligent Traveler wrote, "Uncovering Pompeii's Frescoes." About 100 pieces of art that survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 are on display at the National Museum of Rome through March 20.
• If you want to visit the Prado museum in Madrid during your free time, Gadling has a simple tip for getting around the excruciatingly long line (eight hours?) for tickets: Buy 'em online.
• Liverpool, England, is the European Capital of Culture for 2008 and is promoting the honor with its most famous favorite sons—the Beatles. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the two surviving members of the Fab Four, are helping attract visitors to the city. Gadling points out that the biggest event of the year likely will be The Liverpool Sound, a concert that Paul is hosting June 1 at Anfield Stadium.
• My Wonderful World Blog pointed out a new application: the National Geographic Map of the Day. You can learn a little history, answer a quick trivia question and see an interactive map from a pivotal event from that day's history. Yesterday's map was "Allies reopen the Burma Road" from January 28, 1945.
• The UNESCO World Heritage Committee confirmed its opposition to the construction of a tower in the center of St. Petersburg, Russia.
• Kathleen Crislip at About.com has some advice for donating leftover foreign coins.
• The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Everything you need to know about U.S. passport rules." Passport regulations keep changing, so this might help.
• Gadling wrote about the Value Added Tax (VAT) in Europe in a post titled, "How to instantly save 25% when shopping in Europe."
• We wrote last week about the year's best travel movies. The Los Angeles Times had a piece on where the Oscar contenders for Best Picture were filmed. The Times also wrote about the best films for a vicarious voyage (complete with suggested refreshments for viewing pleasure).
• Engadget reports that American Airlines in-flight WiFi service will cost $10 for flights less than three hours and $12.95 for longer flights.
• One of our favorite pet topics, space travel, keeps gaining momentum. Earlier this month, Gadling wrote, "Who is winning the commercial space race?" — a look at companies vying to take tourists out of this world. You've got to think that Virgin Galactic may have a leg up after last week's news. Aircraft designer Burt Rutan and Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson unveiled its new tourist spacecraft—SpaceShipTwo. (More from the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and BBC.) Virgin Galactic hopes to take tourists into space next year but is already taking bookings online. The cost? $200,000. We presume that's round-trip.
