The Economist launches new theme park...

At first glance, when the press release first arrived in my email box, I thought that they were serious but terribly misguided. Then I realized: Oh. April Fool's Day. I get it.

If I were a little more gullible and not paying attention to the calendar, the first few sentences of this piece might have been something like this:

The Economist Group, which publishes the famed and well-regarded political and business newspaper, The Economist, will launch a new theme park called Econoland. Oh, sure, folks, it sounds a little odd, but, hey, I have the press release right here in my email box. So, it's true! As it has itself announced, "The Economist Group is delighted to announce the development of a public-entertainment facility that combines that magic of a theme park with the excitement of macroeconomics."

As I said, it almost sounded plausible to me. The economy has taken over everyone's lives to a point -- you can't go anywhere without reading or hearing about it. Why not celebrate macroeconomics? But, alas, it's a joke, which the folks at The Economist made clear in several parts of the press release, like when they said near the end, "Econoland will appeal to the kid in everyone, although children themselves will not be admitted. The park will open on April 1st."

Too bad, because some of the proposed rides, outlined in the Economist press release, probably have potential: