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Zimbabwe Introduces $100 Billion Note (Worth 4 Oranges)

edition.cnn.com — Zimbabwe's troubled central bank introduced $100 billion banknotes Saturday in a desperate bid to ease the recurrent cash shortages plaguing the inflation-ravaged economy.

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  • cg4et, on 07/19/2008, -2/+212Does anybody have change for a trillion?
    • Braxo, on 07/20/2008, -5/+29Would you like that in singles and fives?
    • dabura, on 07/20/2008, -0/+26That would be 2 chickens or half a duck..
    • pakakapa, on 07/20/2008, -0/+10just ask the cashier to round to the next quadrillion
    • idbjoshm, on 07/20/2008, -0/+10I got a few buttons to exchange for that.
    • tkotam, on 07/20/2008, -3/+6Anyone knows where I can exchange for one of these? I got a US dollar, so, I know I can sure as hell exchange it for one of these. These are valuable people. No one in history has ever had a 500 billion note!!
      • Seth024, on 07/20/2008, -2/+6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation

        Quote: "The overall impact of hyperinflation: 1 novi dinar = 1 × 10^27~1.3 × 10^27 pre 1990 dinars."

        Quote: "On the 1st of August, 1946 400,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 or 4×10^29 (four hundred octillion) pengő became 1 forint."

      • johanneshint, on 07/20/2008, -0/+5trillion?
        what are you a hobo?
    • EmileVictor, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1The cousins of a friend of mine recently sold their zimbabwean farm for the equivalent of 4 trillion dollars. That number is now probably worth a lot, LOT less.
  • blankis, on 07/19/2008, -2/+19Get one now, and wait for the storm to pass.

    Oh wait, that's not happening.
    • 8randon, on 07/20/2008, -0/+10the bills expire at the end of this year.

      how would it work though, if the bills didn't expire?
      like after WWII were some Germans rich by keeping the once-useless mark?
      • Mononuclear, on 07/20/2008, -0/+17people make millions of $US by buying up currencies when they are cheap and selling them for profit. 5 years ago $1 US was 4 Brazilian Reais. Now $1 US is 1.5 Brazilian Reais. So if you bought a load of Brazilian Reais 5 years ago and then sold them now you would make a lot of money. Other currencies have had even more drastic changes.

        Just as people invest in stock markets many people invest in foreign currencies.
      • dengzhi, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2yes its called forex trading
      • yaddayaddayoda, on 07/20/2008, -0/+6I think there is a lesson that the Fed could learn here. "Don't let this happen to you."

        They are printing MORE money to get their way out of it. Sound familiar?
      • sovietninja, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2Remember the Thai Bhat that brought down the Asian markets? Or did everyone forget that already?
      • edwartica, on 07/21/2008, -0/+3In Zimbabwe, money prints you!
    • pablo82, on 07/20/2008, -4/+2Im fairly sure that Zimbabwe conclusively, yet perhaps indirectly, prooves that we invaded Iraq for oil.
      • Fathom, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1what? explain?
      • pablo82, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1In Zimbabwe you have a tyranical despot in power. It has been widely confirmed that the electoral process was entirely controlled by Mugabe's henchmen through the use of explicit violence and terrorisation of his own people. The reason that Morgan Changari (not sure how you spell it) didn't run in the secondary election (after it was reported he had already won the first) was due to the sheer amount of his supporters that were being massacred. Now other than WMD's (which we know they knew were not there) and supporting Al Qaeda (which we know there was absolutely no proof of either) the only other premise for an invasion of Iraq would be the removal of a 'tyrannical despot leader who killed anyone that opposed their oppresive regime'. Now as we can see with Zimbabwe clear as day, a country which would take about 5 minutes to invade with an army of 27 people with sticks, the idea that we could have invaded Iraq under the final premise I noted is indeed laughable.
  • henrikakselsen, on 07/19/2008, -22/+242Don't worry Zimbabwe, the US dollar will catch up any minute now.
    • CobaltBlue, on 07/20/2008, -4/+10I find it funny that the exact same comment will be on any story about Zimbabwe and be dugg way up.
      • venicerocco, on 07/20/2008, -0/+6Funny ha ha? Or.... The other one?
    • Mpwns, on 07/20/2008, -2/+5its true i get almost 2k a month after taxes and im still broke counting the days till pay day 6 more to go and i got bills due in 3 days. YAY AMERICA !!
      • qwertydvorak, on 07/20/2008, -4/+10learn to spend within your means ? it really does help.
      • cutchyacokov, on 07/20/2008, -0/+10To be fair to Mpwns, that may be difficult on his wage depending upon where he lives. Cost of living across the US is far from equal. I, however, live in Atlantic Canada. I don't really work, I get high all day, post on digg and fix the occasional computer, yet I don't go "job-to-job" like Mpwns goes "paycheck-to-paycheck." In fact I probably work less then half as many hours in a month as most people do per week. Low cost of living is fun, but, unforetunately, it means I can't afford to travel anywhere. You win some, and you lose some. *shrug*
      • Mpwns, on 07/20/2008, -1/+4lets see rent bills money to get to work, food, weed. it all adds up very fast. if you think 2k a month is a lot of money move out of your parents house and you will see its almost nothing.
      • SweatyGooch, on 07/20/2008, -2/+1Once again, learn how to spend your money.
      • sodade, on 07/20/2008, -0/+4If you are that strapped, grow your own (and while you're at it learn to vaporize and don't get high more than once a day). I ***** hate seeing poor ass people dumping 1/4 of their income on a ***** plant that is pretty easy to grow in a closet.
      • mike17032, on 07/20/2008, -1/+2Congrats on being a dumb ***** who cant manage his money.

        I am sure a few more bong rips will solve all your self made problems though.
    • Spyder2k, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2I'm no economics expert, but can't they just divide the value of everything in the country by a billion, maintaining the ratio?
      • arvvvs, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1or cut the zeros like the italian.
        Nope, that will mean admitting defeat politically.
      • Iztikeit, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1If only it was that easy.
      • winampman2, on 07/21/2008, -0/+2Actually...............they DID. They cut 3 zeros back in 2006.

        "In August 2006, the Zimbabwean government issued new currency and asked citizens to turn in old notes; the new currency (issued by the central bank of Zimbabwe) had three zeroes slashed from it. Most financial analysts remained skeptical and said that the new money would not provide relief from record inflation.[5]"
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_Zim ...

        Interesting wiki article. They print billions and trillions of magical dollars that come from nowhere and spend it as soon as they can to pay salaries and other stuff that they can't afford.
    • TechCF, on 07/20/2008, -0/+42000: 1 USD = 10 NOK
      2008: 1 USD = 5 NOK

      Note: US eBay sellers, please ship internationally ;-)
    • chillypacman, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1best way to pay off your china debt ;)
    • Iztikeit, on 07/20/2008, -1/+1No matter how bad America gets, it's doubtful it will get that bad, given how many billionaires and fortune 500 companies we have here.

      I know you were being sarcastic :-p, but knowing Digg there will be people here that believe that.
    • Ozenbac, on 07/21/2008, -0/+1And you can get your own on ebay for only $120 US!
      http://cgi.ebay.com/ZIMBABWE-500-Million-Banknote- ...
  • broalexinfo, on 07/19/2008, -14/+3:))
  • squirrelza, on 07/19/2008, -1/+275Zimbabwe - Home of the most billionaires
    • petraska, on 07/20/2008, -0/+12Well, until December 31st, when all your billions expire.
    • dabura, on 07/20/2008, -32/+1what kind of name is Zimbabwe? land of the zebras? or land of woman without bras?
      • Mononuclear, on 07/20/2008, -1/+30"The name Zimbabwe derives from "Dzimba dza mabwe" meaning "great houses of stone" in the Shona language"
      • Reziarfg, on 07/20/2008, -3/+14@Mononuclear
        Dugg up for not being ignorant.
      • Rammy912, on 07/20/2008, -1/+5How the ***** did you get 'land of women without bras' out of Zimbabwe?
    • scott1, on 07/20/2008, -1/+48Billionaires that can't afford a loaf of bread
      • acceleration, on 07/20/2008, -0/+16Zimbabwe - Home of the most expensive loaf of bread?
    • hmunkey, on 07/20/2008, -0/+3Sadly I'd say not even that many people have this kind of money. They live on barely anything, and can't save. Zimbabwe is ***** up.
  • Hangly, on 07/19/2008, -7/+26Ahh, it makes sense now. Bernanke is from Zimbabwe!
  • lajaw, on 07/20/2008, -13/+49And it's happened because of racism.
    • SuperRat, on 07/20/2008, -3/+25It's a long story but basically, yeah it happened because of racism.
    • Psi57, on 07/20/2008, -13/+26Yeah, because black people sure know how to manage their money. Chompa donka chompa che!
    • 9bpm9, on 07/20/2008, -13/+10And how the hell is this guying being dugg up for this? Other African nations have caused the fall of other African nations if anything. The Europeans fought two god damn world wars, they seem to be doing fine 60 years later.
      • ngresonance, on 07/20/2008, -1/+23It's happened in large part due to racism against white farmers by Mugabe and ZANU-PF.
    • dabura, on 07/20/2008, -7/+9That's because China issued a law forbid Black people from going to bar & restaurants.
      That in turn, causes trillions of dollars of damages worth of unsold weed & brown sugar to Zimbabwe's economy.
  • antipasto, on 07/20/2008, -39/+38Zimbabwe has more billionaires than the United States. Think about it!
    • zizzy, on 07/20/2008, -1/+48We already thought about it when squirrelza called Zimbabwe "Home of the most billionaires" in a comment three hours before yours.
    • crispytown, on 07/20/2008, -3/+1I did but then I thought if I changed my US Dollar to Zimbabwe.... I would only need $1 US to be a Zimbabwe Billionaire. To bad if any of those Zimbabwe Billionaires came to the US they wouldn't be Billionaires anymore. And if anyone from the US goes there all they would need is $1 US to be what you all consider the title "Billionaire".

      Stop comparing Apples to Potatoes. Billionaire is only a title... GET OVER IT!
  • Animal, on 07/20/2008, -12/+4Wow that must be worth a fortune!

    (apparently not)
    • dabura, on 07/20/2008, -1/+2FAiled...no need to explain sarcasm
    • Hellothere123, on 07/20/2008, -1/+7"(apparently not)" is the new "/sarcasm"






      /sarcasm
  • xwfilm, on 07/20/2008, -9/+89I totally thought this was The Onion.
    • Dumbledorito, on 07/20/2008, -1/+40An onion? I'll need at least three notes for one of those.
    • grumpyrain, on 07/20/2008, -2/+13I wish it was The Onion.
    • khail250, on 07/20/2008, -0/+8Looks like someone isn't up to date in current affairs.
    • Rookverse, on 07/21/2008, -0/+0lol yeah its hard to believe huh..
  • leontes, on 07/20/2008, -6/+160Let this be a warning to all of us:

    Diggs are just being granted willy nilly: we should make do with the diggs already in production. Soon 100 diggs soon will be the original equivalent of 4 diggs back when the site was first launched. I think we need to raise interest rates in order to control diggflation. So, those of you borrow diggs would have a low interest rate should spend the diggs into infrastructure rather than commodiities or the diggs are going to become essentially meaningless. Pay back your diggintrest rather than digging up silly comments like this.
    • doyoulikeworms, on 07/20/2008, -11/+1oneword
    • jkleinfeld, on 07/20/2008, -3/+19I lost you at "Let"
    • CobaltBlue, on 07/20/2008, -1/+20Actually, an apple digg is still worth as much as an original digg, considering how few it takes to get apple stories to the front page.
      • ff2k, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1Apples? Well I can get four apples for just one note at the moment so I'm not too fussed.
      • CobaltBlue, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1ff2k, you're comparing apples to oranges.
    • nblsavage, on 07/20/2008, -0/+53I dugg you down in order to conserve diggs.
    • Reziarfg, on 07/20/2008, -1/+21I dugg you up for "diggflation"
    • rugrat54, on 07/20/2008, -1/+4I didnt digg you up or down.

      I am waiting for diggflation to cool down before I make a decision...


      UPDATE: Still waiting...


      UPDATE 2: I didnt digg you up or down because I want to be neutral and not get "involved" while still keeping my diggs at a normal level of acceptance.

      UPDATE 3: Thought:

      Is this because of mrbabyman?
  • MyDiggIsBig, on 07/20/2008, -6/+2yup, that sounds about right.
  • timpkmn89, on 07/20/2008, -2/+14I want to get one just to say I'm a hundred billionaire. Now where did I put those oranges...
  • spookyttws, on 07/20/2008, -9/+5That's really sad. I bemoan the $4.30 gas (hey it went down 10 cents..) but that's nothing compared the billion dollar gas prices.
    • burjzyntski, on 07/20/2008, -1/+2"Oooh, let's stop here, it's only $11,000,000/L!"
  • airwalkery2k, on 07/20/2008, -3/+15If anybody has a website where I can buy some of these for the street value exchange rate, I'd buy a few. They seem like great novelty items. Maybe that's what they are aiming for.
    • mriegger, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2ebay has some people selling them. I'm not sure how to sell if they really are genuine though
    • Mpwns, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2i would pay up to $20 for one.
    • ThatDeadDude, on 07/20/2008, -0/+0I should set up a website for that... I know lots of people who are always going through Zim...
    • cyrusuncc, on 07/21/2008, -0/+0I'd buy that for a dollar!
  • Syntheticbadger, on 07/20/2008, -2/+15dugg because the title puts the value of zimbabwe currency in terms of barter.
    $100 trillion for a chicken/wife...
  • ElBoss, on 07/20/2008, -2/+25As long as African nations allow dangerously insane ego-maniacal politicians to take power then they can expect that their country's economy will be used as nothing more than a presidential bank account and all of the hyperinflation that goes with it.
    • overtoke, on 07/20/2008, -6/+4more like: As long as the United States Citizens allow dangerously insane ego-maniacal politicians to take power then they can expect that their country's economy will be used as nothing more than a presidential bank account and all of the hyperinflation that goes with it.
      • CobaltBlue, on 07/20/2008, -2/+6Are you seriously comparing the problems in the United States to the problems of Zimbabwe?
      • overtoke, on 07/20/2008, -2/+1I'm saying the problems are related.
      • BHO4Prez, on 07/20/2008, -3/+1overtake

        blah blah BUsh is hitler blah blah ablha

        typical digger
      • roodammy44, on 07/20/2008, -0/+3BHO4Prez:

        You're right, bush has only caused a million deaths and only moderately removed the rights of his citizens. Hitler definitely wins with 60 million deaths and complete facism.

        Bush is small time in the league of maniacal dictators. I mean, his law-free prison camp doesn't even produce stuff - hitler, stalin and mao are pissing on him.
    • maerc, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1You act as if they can really do anything about it. These people are already in power, and there's not much the citizens can do about it.
      • ElBoss, on 07/20/2008, -1/+4Wrong. Look up "revolution" in the dictionary.
      • jaredcat, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2look up lazy uneducated starving people in the dictionary...
      • ElBoss, on 07/20/2008, -1/+1It's not that simple. There's hardly a lack of lazy, un-educated people in western countries.

        It's a cultural problem. African culture is 1,000 years behind western culture.
    • antechinus, on 07/20/2008, -1/+2A bit of perspective is needed here. George W is responsible for more people's deaths than the evil porch monkey of Zimbabwe.
  • BonersMilloy, on 07/20/2008, -3/+21MUGABE!
  • Dumbledorito, on 07/20/2008, -1/+61And now the race is on: Which country will be the first to have notes that express their monetary units with exponents?
  • rationalbeats, on 07/20/2008, -17/+6I guess Zimbabwe should try and find a way to seek royalte payments on rap music.

    Hey they gave us the ***** who create that trash. If they were enterprising they would cash in on it.
    • sovietninja, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2The clicking noises would make people think something was wrong with their cd players. Yes CD players, I don't think the average Zimbabwieriengienain owes an MP3 player, an MP5 maybe...
    • sethorama99, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2English, do you speak it?
  • drawkward84, on 07/20/2008, -1/+6This would be cool just to have as a conversation piece.
    • sovietninja, on 07/20/2008, -0/+3Yeah, if you wanted to be Donald Trump and just buy everyone out... until they find out its worth only an orange ....
  • Obzerva, on 07/20/2008, -10/+6Zimbabwe: Where everyone's a billionaire!
  • byrdgang, on 07/20/2008, -1/+20Why would a government issue larger banknotes in light of extreme inflation? If anything, you'd think they would try to get things under control. How this keeps things in control is beyond me.

    But then again, I am not an economist, and this could explain why I don't understand what's going on.
    • unknownpoltroon, on 07/20/2008, -1/+9Same reason they do it here in the US: Its a tax they dont have to announce. They are stealing all of the money that people have earned.
      • Crystallio, on 07/20/2008, -0/+9Exactly. The government is able to print money essentially for free (although I recall reading that the German company that supplies the paper for Zimbabwe's currency has stopped making deliveries at the request of the German government), which devalues the currency already in circulation. The net effect is the government gets free money at the expense of its citizens or anyone else already possessing the notes.
    • visionaryIX, on 07/20/2008, -0/+11Its hyper-inflation. As the amount of currency in the economy increases, its value decreases, and people demand more money. So they printed more money instead of trying to fix its value.

      There's nothing really they can do to fix it now. Adopt a foreign currency or scrap it.

      I also wouldn't be surprised if the government was printing money purely for their own benefit.
    • grumpyrain, on 07/20/2008, -0/+13Zimbabwe is not a democracy except by name. Mugabe lost the "election" but refused for weeks to release the results. The MDC pulled out of the presidential run-off despite winning the original round, but then again I don't blame them. Mugabe had already all but promised civil war if he lost.

      Mugabe prints more money to pay his cronies, his security service, his police and his army. The currency subsequently devalues because (a) the amount of currency in proportion to the GDP is increasing and (b) everyone knows that Mugabe will just print more money in the future making it even worse.

      Even without sanctions, there would be almost no foreign investment (certainly none paid for in Zimbabwean dollars). With no motivation to earn soon-to-be-worthless money, there are massive workplace participation problems, and hence food shortages.
  • Eyebee, on 07/20/2008, -0/+25It's about time that the worthless scumbag that has raped the country since 1980, died.
    • Jaseoldboss, on 07/20/2008, -2/+3Don't worry, if they ever find oil in Zimbabwe he's done for.
    • Eyebee, on 07/20/2008, -0/+3Of course. That's the criteria for the western powers going into another country. THEN, it WILL suddenly become a human rights issue.
  • hayehudi, on 07/20/2008, -4/+4"The new bills are actually bearer checks and have an expiration date of December 31."
    • chrisbarr, on 07/20/2008, -0/+8Glad to know copy/paste is working on your computer as well.
      • PurpleSfinx, on 07/20/2008, -0/+3Glad to know you're not using an iPhone.

        Fixed.
  • jkleinfeld, on 07/20/2008, -6/+2Ebagum!
    (Cockney speakers will understand)
    • Dr00pieS, on 07/20/2008, -1/+3O rly? Or should I say: Ylr o?
    • Myonosken, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2Um no that's Yorkshire speak and its pronounced "Eee, by-gum"
  • chungmaster, on 07/20/2008, -1/+60/buried for being old. You can only buy 2 oranges now.
    • grumpyrain, on 07/20/2008, -1/+13Nonsense.

      This article was written yesterday.
      Inflation rate estimation = 2.2 million% / year = 6,000% / day (or 60x per day)

      So today that note would buy perhaps 1/20 of a single orange.
      • HHP2K, on 07/20/2008, -5/+2Wrong, 60x per day for the original inflation rate.. not 60x 2.2 million.
      • grumpyrain, on 07/20/2008, -0/+7Nonsense. Your math is wrong.

        2,200,000% / 355

        is close enough to 6,000%

        100% = 1x
        200% = 2x

        6000% = 60x

        Presuming an inflation rate doesn't improve (and give me one reason it would)

        $100 billion = 4 (oranges) * (1/60) = 1/20 of an orange.
      • fuwath, on 07/20/2008, -0/+3Forgot to carry the one.
  • BaoUnit, on 07/20/2008, -8/+5"The new note is equal to just one U.S. dollar."[/quote]
  • ShadowPhoenix11, on 07/20/2008, -7/+5Its very sad... $100 billion in Zimbabu is equal to only $1 in the U.S. HORRIBLE!!!!!
    • macdben, on 07/20/2008, -0/+6Thank you for putting this in terms retards can understand
  • Mrdudeperson, on 07/20/2008, -1/+6I wonder how easy it is to counterfeit that.... hmmm.
    • Aokubidaikon, on 07/20/2008, -0/+4I wouldn't bother, the paper it's printed on is probably worth more than the money itself!
  • ryan83189, on 07/20/2008, -2/+86So I guess the show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" is not popular in Zimbabwe.
  • SpookyDIGG, on 07/20/2008, -1/+4I want one of these to frame and put on my wall!!
  • Goldbricker, on 07/20/2008, -0/+18At that point why even bother with currency? Just carry around a pocketful of shells or something.
    • mikeblur, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2That's what Germany wound up doing in 1923. The deutsche mark was practically worthless, and people went to the barter system. I have a 5 billion mark stamp that's worth a little more than the paper it's printed on.
  • Ramenhood, on 07/20/2008, -1/+24Who else would pay at least $5 for a bill just for the novelty?
    • Dested, on 07/20/2008, -0/+21This just in: Sudden influx of American money into Zimbabwe stimulates economy.
    • HappyScrappy, on 07/20/2008, -0/+43I have a 100 ZIM dollar bill I got in 1997. It was worth about 3 US dollars at the time.

      There was a 1,000:1 revaluation in 2006. So this 100 billion dollar note is really like a 100 trillion dollar bill when compared to the same units as my 100 ZIM dollar bill.

      So my bill (which is technically not valid anymore) is worth one 10,000,000,000th of a (US) cent. I have it in a ziploc bag that is worth 0.4 cents, or about 25 billion times more than the bill itself.
    • grumpyrain, on 07/20/2008, -1/+2Yes (I would like to) but no (I have principles).
      • HHP2K, on 07/20/2008, -1/+3And those principles pertain to this.. how?
      • grumpyrain, on 07/20/2008, -0/+3You are kidding right?

        Foreign currency is hard currency. Creating a market for it simply acts to prop up a brutal dictator who has already proven he is willing to run his own into absolute poverty. So yes. I would like to have a note that has some figure in the billions written on it. But to the extent possible, I don't want my money to be used to support these atrocities.
  • braeden0613, on 07/20/2008, -0/+16Let's hope no one decides to pirate music over there...the fines would cause the calculator to explode
  • Rocco03, on 07/20/2008, -1/+8Hi, I'll take 2 pounds of oranges.
    I'm paying with cents.
    • aptanalogy, on 07/20/2008, -0/+13That's 31,250,000 tons. Get ready for the most epic money exchange of all time!
    • aptanalogy, on 07/20/2008, -0/+6...Which is somewhere around 6944444 dump trucks. (This is assuming US penny weight)
    • aptanalogy, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2Actually, that's 15,625,000 tons, which is 3,472,222 dump trucks, because I forgot that 1 ton= 2000 pounds. Close enough.
  • Coolkid11, on 07/20/2008, -2/+30It's generally not a great idea to kill all the white people in your country, who happen to be the only people who are skilled at leading, and to replace them with a person that thinks food comes from U.N. bags.
    • radio4fan, on 07/20/2008, -5/+3Get a clue *****.

      Try reading a paper or something.
    • mike17032, on 07/20/2008, -0/+4You win the thread, hands down.
  • dashdingo, on 07/20/2008, -1/+4That's a lot of ***** oranges, *****.
  • alexra, on 07/20/2008, -2/+4and people think were doing bad
  • alexra, on 07/20/2008, -1/+20you have just won 100 billion.......zimbabwe dollars, congratulations.
    • Mpwns, on 07/20/2008, -1/+2i did? im gonna quit my job right now!!
    • TheInformer, on 07/20/2008, -0/+4That means I can satisfy my daily requirement for vitamin C!
      • arvvvs, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2Man about that million dollar bet I made....
        I said dollars not us dollar.
  • HHP2K, on 07/20/2008, -0/+6Okay, as someone who hasn`t been too well-educated on economics, could SOMEONE please explain to me in laymans terms what the ***** is going on in that crazy country right now??
    • johanneshint, on 07/20/2008, -0/+5Money is losing value, so the government prints out more money, which makes it only worse.
      Kind of like Germany after WW1.
    • arvvvs, on 07/20/2008, -0/+5Hyperinflation. Inflation is the general rise in prices, but since the prices are going sooooooooo high, so fast, the wages can't keep up, and teh government prints these billion dollar notes.
  • ZombieSociety, on 07/20/2008, -8/+4"The new note is equal to just one U.S. dollar."

    Then why don't they just call it "one dollar?"
    • JulyZerg, on 07/20/2008, -2/+8Because not everyone bases their currency off of yours...
    • grumpyrain, on 07/20/2008, -1/+5Because by tomorrow it will only be worth a couple of cents.
    • gr00vy, on 07/20/2008, -1/+8Because the government does not have any foreign reserves, or reserves of any kind to back the currency. And under current political clime nobody respects your currency.

      Simply put the government there is a non-functioning entity that only exists because there hasn't been a coup, yet. But there will have to be, or the entire nation will, die.
    • Hurricane, on 07/20/2008, -0/+3Why will $1 USD not buy 4 oranges?
  • Thinbev, on 07/20/2008, -10/+11If the Federal Reserve keeps printing dollars out of thin air, this could happen to our dollar.

    www.campaignforliberty.com
    • raydeen, on 07/20/2008, -0/+7What do you mean 'if'?
    • Beautyon, on 07/20/2008, -0/+4...buried because retarded diggers have absolutely no understanding of the Federal Reserve System and how their money is actually evaporating 'rite thur' in their pockets as they dig down that insightful OP.

      You idiots are going to get what you deserve.

      Those of you who are not idiots but who are curious about what I am talking about, watch this documentary:

      http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560 ...

      and then turn all your savings into Swiss Francs or some other thing that has real value.
  • charlie763, on 07/20/2008, -0/+28You know your economy is in trouble when prices need to be expressed in scientific notation.
  • scb0825, on 07/20/2008, -2/+5At least I am wealthy somewhere... :)
  • gr00vy, on 07/20/2008, -0/+4The only picture that they can find is a 500 million dollar note. Worth 1/2 a penny. Even the photography is suffering from inflation.
  • Mpwns, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2to bad they expire at the end of the year.
  • statix, on 07/20/2008, -2/+10Hope this letter finds you in good health, sir.

    Well you see, you are the heir to the throne of your long lost nephew King Sir Wonahonkaloogi III. He has left behind 100 Billion Zimbabwe Dollars in his will for you...
  • TheInformer, on 07/20/2008, -7/+3Inflation in Zimbabwe is almost as bad as Al Gore's waistline inflation.
  • Konrad9, on 07/20/2008, -2/+10I MUST HAVE ONE OF THESE BILLS.
    Seriously, I want to frame it and put it on my wall.
    "One hundred BILLION dollars!" *pinky to corner of mouth*
    • ancientdinko, on 07/20/2008, -0/+9apparently all you need is a printer
      • arvvvs, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2but its not real....
      • Iztikeit, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2The value of the ink is probably worth more than the bills, I bet they encourage counterfeiting. It saves the government money >_>. That may sound ridiculous but it might be true given their economy.
    • Aokubidaikon, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2I'll trade you five oranges for one ^_^
    • thealsir, on 07/21/2008, -0/+1haha. I so want to do that now

      any way to order currency online?
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