Doughnuts to Remember

When I was growing up, my dad worked on a college campus.   He was a economics professor and business department chairman during my early grade school years which meant summers were spent hanging out on the third floor of the administration building with my little brother searching for entertainment. Dad had a computer.   In fact, he had a touch screen computer which just seemed absolutely magical.   Since we were a bit young for heavy programming the only games he had were pong and a very awkward battleship. There was a movie projector in one of the classrooms that we would set up.   The movie selection was grim.   We could choose from a multitude of economics lectures, several coma-inducing statistic based documentaries or one theatrical movie.   Guess which one my brother and I watched over and over about 100 times? We called it the Doughnut Movie and after the summer of a hundred viewings I have never seen it again.   The College Economics Department had it on hand to demonstrate the theories related to supply and demand.   We watched it because it was funny, featured food and was much better than any other option. The scene that is etched in my memory is the one that featured doughnuts.   A rich lady had stopped at the doughnut shop and requested to help make doughnuts.   The owner obliged and the lady had a wonderful time making doughnuts. Many, many doughnuts. Too many doughnuts. Too many doughnuts for the store to sell. *insert demand theory lecture here* The doughnut shop tried everything to sell the extra doughnuts. They increased their advertising. They increased their marketing. They dropped the price. *insert market equilibrium lesson here* It was of no use.   There were just too many doughnuts. And then the rich lady discovered that she had lost her diamond ring while making the donuts.   Her ring was baked INTO one of the doughnuts. They then offered a REWARD for finding the ring. And then there was no trouble selling doughnuts. And then there was a flurry of doughnut dissection. It was all very Mad, Mad, Mad World. Fast forward 30 years: I was sitting on the couch with Ryan listening to him read his required school literature, Homer Price.   He started in on a story about Homer in a doughnut shop and how a rich lady stops by and asks to make doughnuts… *insert Holly sitting back on the couch to enjoy the nostalgia*