Last week, having had plastic 20-peso notes since 2002, Mexico decided to issue its 50-peso note in plastic too.

ECONOMIST: The rising popularity of plastic payment, in all its forms

Then the mementos are put into plastic bags with a note card with the date of collection, the fallen service member's name and the grave number.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

In their excellent new book, How Capitalism Will Save Us, Forbes Chairman Steve Forbes and Elizabeth Ames note that demand for mostly elective plastic surgery has rocketed sixfold in the last 15 years.

FORBES: Political Economy