It is viable during the Olympics because so many workers are volunteers, rewarded only with a garish purple-and-red uniform and, hopefully, a fun time.

ECONOMIST: The London games

He wanted to be Santa Claus, but he was too proud to wear the red uniform, but he had been too slow about climbing the ladder to the chimney.

FORBES: Santa Arrived Too Late

Zavala says he likes his uniform and red fedora.

CNN: Troubled youth kicking it 'old skool' at San Fran bistro

Crouched next to two of his colleagues, their leader, Doron Kempel, watched a man wearing a khaki uniform and a red beret 300 yards away.

FORBES: The Tech Innovator Who Almost Killed Saddam Hussein

Famed for their trademark macho outfits, including a policeman's uniform, a red Indian, and a construction worker, Village People - named in tribute to the New York's Greenwich Village gay district - launched themselves on the disco world in the late 1970s.

BBC: Village People back at the YMCA

For instance, Mawrth Vallis, one of the largest identified clay-rich regions on the Red Planet, exhibits a more uniform mineralogy pattern that indicates water was much more closely tied to surface processes on the planet.

MSN: New proof that water existed underground on ancient Mars

On the day he arrived at Central Florida, Walker retreated to the locker room, changed into a white uniform (No. 34 printed in red across the jersey) and joined his new teammates.

WSJ: Remembering the Late, Great USFL

"Think 'Officer and a Gentleman' a man in a white dress uniform showing up at my graduation with three dozen red roses, " says Ms. Madsen, 50 and an author and blogger about topics including female sexuality.

WSJ: How to Talk to Your Spouse About Improving Your Sex Life

However persistent the European Commission's demands for uniform labour-market treatment of all EU citizens, the red tape between national labour markets remains frustratingly thick.

ECONOMIST: Building euro-zone competitiveness