The recession is SkyMall's fault!

Not really sure why, but I took the copy of SkyMall assigned to my seat from my Continental flight.

I have to say, though, that SkyMall is (was?) a bit of marketing genious. I mean, really... who would ever buy the overpriced and useless (but shiny!)... well, junk in there?

A $59 fountain pen, in an era where most people won't even touch a ballpoint pen, preferring e-mail.
The $34.95 elephant sculptural wall sconce, which adds an "exotic touch".
And what home is complete without a $699 popcorn machine and antique cart?

The answer is: nobody in their right mind! Which is why SkyMall is perfect. You have a captive audience being subjected to overbooked flights, cramped seats, abusive airline staff, lousy food, and a screaming baby two rows behind them. They'll do anything to get their mind off of their current predicament.

Yes, even leaf through a catalogue full of overpriced, useless, but shiny objects. And perhaps even pick up the AirFone (which, at $2/minute, is something else you'd never use except for the fact that calls to SkyMall are free--brilliant!) and buy one of those objects.

Now, just imagine what would happen if all those people suddenly realised, "Hey, I don't actually need any of this junk!" (Or, better, "My spouse is going to kill me when he/she finds out how much I've spent/how much space this will take up in the house."). And remember that consumer spending accounts for 60-some-odd percent of economic activity...

It's food for thought (yours for only $96.99).