As I've mentioned before, I lived and worked in Zimbabwe some years ago, in the years when it had only gone half-way down the toilet. I remember well the day in 1997 when the former President-for-Life -- how sweet to be able to say that! -- announced that he would give all his "war veterans" generous pensions for life. That was one promise he kept. The printing presses started rolling, and the value of the Zimbabwe dollar (aka "Zimkwacha") in real money fell by 50% overnight. And it kept falling too. Inflation became hyperinflation, and the number of zeros on the banknotes grew and grew. Zimbabwe set a record for the largest denomination banknote ever printed. Here it is.
The day after the new super-high-denomination notes appeared, Ndlovu ran into Moyo on the main street of Bulawayo. Noticing that Moyo was carrying a dog, he asked him, "Where are you going that you're carrying your dog?"
"I'm taking him to the market," Moyo replied. "I hear there's a $100 trillion note now, and I aim to sell him for that much. Surely with $100 trillion I could buy something more than a loaf of bread."
The next day, Moyo and Ndlovu met again at the local beer hall. "Did you succeed in selling your dog for $100 trillion?", asked Ndlovu.
"Not exactly," said Moyo, "but I was able to trade him for two cats worth $50 trillion each!"
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