Most Expensive Catastrophes in History

Most Expensive Catastrophes in History

10. Titanic – $150 Million
The sinking of the Titanic is possibly the most famous accident in the world. But it barely makes our list of top 10 most expensive. On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage and was considered to be the mostluxurious ocean liner ever built. Over 1,500 people lost their lives when the ship ran into an iceberg and sunk in frigid waters. The ship cost $7 million to build ($150 million in today ‘ s dollars).

9. Tanker Truck vs Bridge – $358 Million
On August 26, 2004, a car collided with a tanker truck containing 32,000 liters of fuel on the Wiehltal Bridge in Germany . The tanker crashed through the guardrail and fell 90 feet off the A4 Autobahn resulting in a huge explosion and fire which destroyed the load-bearing ability of the bridge. Temporary repairs cost $40 million and the cost to replace the bridge is estimated at $318 Million.

8. MetroLink Crash – $500 Million
On September 12, 2008, in what was one of the worst train crashes in California history, 25 people were killed when a Metrolink commuter train crashed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train in Los Angeles . It is thought that the Metrolink train may have run through a red signal while the conductor was busy text messaging.. Wrongful death lawsuits are expected to cause $500 million in losses for Metrolink.

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Most Expensive Domain Name

Most Expensive Domain Name

Domain name sales occurring in the aftermarket are frequently submitted to the DN journal. The sales are listed weekly and include the top aftermarket resellers which include but are not limited to Sedo, Traffic (auctions), Afternic, NameJet, Moniker and private sales.  To date, and according to Guinness World Records and MSNBC, the most expensive domain name sales on record as of 2004 were.

 Business.com for $7.5 million in December 1999
 AsSeenOnTv.com for $5.1 million in January 2000
 Altavista.com for $3.3 million in August 1998
 Wine.com for $2.9 million in September 1999
 CreditCards.com for $2.75 million in July 2004
 Autos.com for $2.2 million in December 1999

The week ending January 27, 2008, DNJournal reported that CNN, a cable news channel purchased iReport.com for $750,000. This signifies another turning point in domain name sales. This name has neither organic traffic, nor does it have a dictionary term alone. Instead it is a highly brandable domain name utilizing the second most popular prefix for a “dictionary” and commercial word.

http://en.wikipedia.org

The Economy is So Bad – Even Dilbert Got Fired

Kai Ryssdal of APM’s Market Place interviewed Dilbert creator Scott Adams for their new series “Taking Stock”.

Adams is a typical comic book artist. Kind of funny. Kind of weird:
ADAMS: Well, the great thing is that in this kind of environment, almost everybody you deal with is trying to screw you. And so that makes great comic fodder. So, everybody’s kind of a little bit dishonest. Maybe not criminally so. But can you really tell if your cellphone service is better than another cellphone service? Or can you tell if you invest in a hedge fund that they’re going to invest in anything versus just keeping the money and spending it on fancy clothes?

RYSSDAL: Do you really believe everybody’s trying to screw you out there?

ADAMS: Well, I like to think everybody is, ’cause then I’ll be ready, you know, just in case. But, you know, it’s good to be vigilant.