Got Dumped? Take The Day Off!

A Japanese company gives you paid time off after a bad break-up with a partner, with more "heartache leave" on offer as they get older. Tokyo-based Hime & Company, which also gives staff paid time off to hit the shops during sales season, says heartache leave allows staff to cry themselves out and return to work refreshed. "Not everyone needs to take maternity leave but with heartbreak, everyone needs time off, just like when you get sick," CEO Miki Hiradate. (Decent argument)

Staff aged 24 years or younger can take one day off per year, while those between 25 and 29 can take two days off and those older can take three days off, the company said. "Women in their 20s can find their next love quickly, but it's tougher for women in their 30s, and their break-ups tend to be more serious," Hiradate said. (Classic stereotype...)

Hime & Company staff can also take two mornings off twice a year as "sales shopping leave", so they can race to stores to hunt for bargains. "Before, women could take half-days off to go to sales, but you'd have to hide your shopping bags in lockers by the train station," Hiradate said.
"But with paid leave, we don't have to feel guilty about bringing our shopping bags to work, and we can enjoy the best part about sales shopping -- talking about our purchases afterwards."

SERIOUSLY- Can I work here? Days off for shopping? That's amazing...

http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUST8913820080128?feedType=RSS&feedName=lifestyleMolt

Cigarettes With Skulls

Another hilarity. Apparently, the Chinese government doesn't think its citizens are literate, so a picture of a diseased lung will hopefully prevent Chinese from smoking.

Chinese cigarette packs will have skulls, blackened teeth or diseased lungs printed on them in the latest effort to tackle smoking, but one expert said the images may actually attract younger people to take up the habit. The images would have to take up at least 30 percent of the pack's surface area under rules that would come into force from January 2009, the Beijing Morning Post said, citing an official at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Similar images are already printed on packs in countries including Singapore, Thailand and Canada. A packet of cigarettes can cost as little as 8 cents!!

Fun Fact (depressing): Chinese are the world's most enthusiastic smokers, with a growing market of more than 300 million making it a magnet for cigarette companies and a focus of international health concern. The average age people take up smoking in some parts of the country had fallen to as low as just over 10, even as efforts are stepped up to curb the habit, the newspaper added.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070912/od_nm/china_health_smoking_odd_dc;_ylt=AsXui1mENo2GHwMDoynDf6qs0NUE