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WITH JOBS LIKE THESE ...

Last week, Britain's health minister made some ill-considered comments about men’s health during a recession. He explained that while men are ordinarily reluctant to seek healthcare and advice, they are suddenly more likely to see a doctor once they are unemployed, if precedent "in this country and abroad" is anything to go by.

The "abroad" Ben Bradshaw was referring to must have excluded America, land of the free and home of the uninsured. In the only industrialised nation without some form of national health care, the unemployed must find other ways to maintain good health and spirits. This may help to explain the Unemployment Olympics, which took place in New York yesterday.

The brainchild of Nick Goddard, a laid-off computer programmer, the event let the newly shiftless blow off steam with such games as Pin the Blame on the Boss and Office-Phone Skee Ball. ("I never knew that I wanted a job this bad until I didn't have a job," said one participant, on a break from searching job listings.) One can't help but recall the amazing fax-machine scene from the film "Office Space":

Though I could've certainly used the gift-certificate prizes donated by local bars and restaurants, I was disqualified from participating. I have a job, sort of, as an editorial intern at a national magazine (where I still manage to make less than those who receive New York state unemployment benefits). So despite the sunny day and the event’s tantalising proximity to my office, I spent the day indoors at my dingy desk, pining for a whack at the piñata.

~ CORBIN HIAR

Picture credit: clementine gallot (via Flickr)