And then there was the retired postal worker, a picture-perfect grandmother.

NPR: Libby Jury Selection Includes Some Surprises

Securitisation created a serious agency problem, leaving loan originators, who were paid up-front, with no incentive to avoid bad credits and every reason to piggyback inappropriate products onto good ones (in one particularly depressing tale, a retired postal worker whose mortgage is almost paid off is switched to an interest-only product that leaves him in danger of losing his home).

ECONOMIST: The credit crunch

Named after postal worker Rudolph Hass, who purchased the seedling in 1926 from a California farmer, the distinctive purplish-black fruit has a thicker skin and smaller body than other varieties.

NPR: What's in a Name? The Avocado Story