12 Great Ideas America Should Steal From Other Countries
"No bad ideas in a brainstorm." That's a common saying that implies a darker truth: as soon as an idea leaves a brainstorm's cocoon, and gets put into practice, it can metamorphose into a living, breathing disaster. After all, who knows how your theoretical idea would actually work? How can we put any idea into practice without testing it on millions of people first? And surprise -- sudden mental left turn here -- what if we already had a way to test all kinds of ideas, see how great they really are, and then easily make your life better by implementing them?
On this week's episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by Adam Tod Brown (Unpopular Opinion) and Nick Wiger (Doughboys) for a worldwide brainstorming session. They'll consider all kinds of real ideas, tested by real countries, that could upgrade life in America if we just had the courage to borrow them. The year's almost over, so throw on some headphones and find out how copying the best laws from Sweden, Cuba, Taiwan and more places could be our first and best decision of 2019.
Footnotes:
Unpopular Opinion podcast network
5 Laws From Other Countries (The USA Should Totally Steal) (Cracked)
5 Laws Foreign Countries Got Right (That We Need In America) (Cracked)
Kevin O'Leary drops out of Conservative leadership race, endorses Maxime Bernier (CBC)
What's a Penny Made Of? (LiveScience)
The Terrifying Reason Why Pennies Still Exist (Cracked Video)
The End of a Once Mighty, Still Deadly Industry: the Canada Letter (New York Times)
99% Invisible: "Separation Anxiety" (about Taiwan trash collection)
The Simpsons Mr. Plow commercial (YouTube)
Mad Men picnic littering (YouTube)
The Trashy Beginnings of "Don't Mess With Texas" (Smithsonian)
Living Wages, Rarity for U.S. Fast-Food Workers, Served Up in Denmark (New York Times)
Can you make $45,000 per year at McDonald's in Denmark? -- Mostly True (Politifact)
An Historic #MeToo Moment (At McDonald's) - Good Luck, America (Unpopular Opinion)
McDonald's with Sarah Silverman (Doughboys)
McDonald's To Settle Suits On Beef Tallow In French Fries (New York Times)
McDonald's to add self-order kiosks to 1,000 stores each quarter (CNBC)
Denmark plans to isolate 'unwanted' migrants on remote island (CNN)
Why Hitchhiking Is Huge in Cuba: 'The Transportation System Is Screwed' (Vice News)
How tiny Estonia stepped out of USSR's shadow to become an internet titan (The Guardian)
The City That Was Saved by the Internet (Vice Motherboard)
Tennessee kills muni-broadband expansion bill after AT&T opposition (Ars Technica)
Swedish Speed-Camera Pays Drivers to Slow Down (Wired)
Fyre Festival organizer sentenced to 6 years in prison (CNN)
Take a peek at the new-look Spurs camouflage jerseys (WOAI San Antonio)
How the Pentagon Paid for NFL Displays of Patriotism (TruthDig)
How Germany approaches guns (CNN)
Five things to know about guns in Germany (The Local.de)
See the first-ever Cracked Podcast LIVE TOUR this spring! Get your tickets now for: Thursday April 11th -- Lincoln Hall, Chicago IL and Friday April 12th -- Amsterdam Bar and Hall, St. Paul MN.
