I love the Wall Street Journal and the fact that they can make almost any economic story interesting. For example, the leading gong salesman in the U.S. Yes, gongs.
When the economy was going gangbusters, salesmen were piling into gongs. Sales people seem to like making customers bang gongs to ease the pain of buying something they might not be able to afford.
“But as soon as the recession hit, bam! It stopped,” says Mr. Borakove. Gong sales shifted over to the meditation market. “Because when people go broke,” he says, “they get spiritual.”
Turns out there are a few folks in the gong business, and they aren’t joking about the spiritual aspect of gongs. Their top buyers now are yoga instructors and people who are buying “planet gongs,” probably related to the end of the world predictions.
The gong dealer says that Countrywide was a buyer during the subprime crazy selling days. This should be a warning sign. Any business that thought it was a good idea to buy a giant gong probably deserves to go out of business with a few exceptions.
Another random fact I find amusing is that the tv show “Scrubs” can singlehandedly boost gong sales.
That reminded Mr. Borakove of the “Scrubs” episode where J.D. says to Julie, “Um, now it’s time to ring the sex gong.” Whenever that line airs, no matter where in the world, gong orders pour into Gongs Unlimited.
Let’s hope that the current administration gets gonged this November!
One bar I visited in Spain had a gong that they would hit whenever someone didn’t tip the bartender. I told them that I just paid them 4 bucks for a coke, and as far as I was concerned the f’ing tip was built into the price of the drink! (and this was a while back when the dollar was doing a whole lot better than it is now)
Gongs are awesome! Get one made from AR500 hardened steel plate, and it’ll serve for pretty much any centerfire rifle at 200+ yards.
What do you mean that’s not what we’re talking about?
I’ve always wanted a gong (I was a percussionist in high school and college). But I’ve never been able to justify the purchase as the number of situations where it’s appropriate to use one are (unsurprisingly) rather limited (at least if you’re not performing musically anymore).