Written by: Beck
In the year 1939, a company that did a very silly thing--covering the nation in a network of copper wire hooked to funny looking boxes--joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 blue chip companies.
Today, AT&T leaves the index, replaced by, of all things, Verizon. Also leaving the index are Eastman Kodak (member since 1930), and International Paper (member since 1956), the two being replaced by AIG and Pfizer. That's right, the maker of hard-on inducing drug Viagra is one of the nation's top 30 blue chips.
In lighter news,
read this article over at the Motley Fool. Money quote:
Authorities initially cuffed Cooper and stunned him with a Taser until they realized he wasn't a terrorist. "I just want to apologize to the NYSE, everyone at Farmland, and all the people back home. Seriously, I thought it was a strange ritual, but what did I know? In France, on your wedding day, it's customary to pass gas on your in-laws."