Men's underwear index and other off-key economic indicators

[liberal N proud]

It may sound trivial, but former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was among subscribers to the theory that hidden-from-view undergarments are the first thing men stop buying as the economy heads south.

Sales of men’s underwear rose 7.9% in August from a year earlier, according research firm NPD Group. By this measure, at least, we’re moving in the right direction.

http://money.msn.com/how-to-invest/offbeat-indicators-of-economic-health

[Bonhomme Richard]

1. Or maybe it's just more cases of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. n/t

[Gidney N Cloyd]

2. My mom always told me to wear decent underwear just in case I...

...plan on getting into an accident to collect the insurance money.

[sendero]

3. Or could it be..

... that after 3 years of not buying new underwear that folks' skivvys are just plain worn out and have to be replaced?

[Turbineguy]

4. I'm wearing my

Happy Hour shorts right now (they have cute little martini glasses on them). I had to go to the Doctor for my half yearly cancer screen and thought I'd better were something memorable.

[customerserviceguy]

5. Hmm, makes me think about investing possibilities

Should I short Hanes?

[xchrom]

6. At some point they wear out. A forced purchase

Is indicative only of that.

[Yo_Mama]

7. Both men's and women's underwear prices have risen sharply

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/inflation-out-of-sight/

Those figures are not price-adjusted, so they don't mean much.