Weird Economics 2

Weird Economics 2: Even Stranger, Even Funne" ventures into the bizarre corners of commerce that prove human behavior is anything but rational. From sand mafias committing murder over construction materials to UFO conventions generating millions in revenue, the book reveals the hidden economic logic behind seemingly absurd markets. Through wildly entertaining examples—why someone pays $200,000 for a koi carp, how cults operate like Fortune 500 companies, why Disney's underground tunnels are economic genius, and how competitive eating became a professional sport—it demonstrates that every strange human behavior has an economic angle, no matter how ridiculous it seems on the surface.

Beyond cataloging the weird, the book explores the darker side of niche markets, from the illegal trade in endangered fish and stolen dinosaur bones to the violent world of sneaker scalping and disability-access scams at theme parks. It examines how misinformation spreads like financial bubbles, why people pay for voodoo curses on the dark web, and how bots transformed sneaker collecting from a hobby into a Wall Street-style game. With bonus material on bizarre economic laws still on the books and how to spot hidden economics in everyday life, the sequel makes a compelling case that the world's weirdness isn't slowing down—and economists are taking notes on all of it.