AN INTERESTING BIT OF ECONOMIC ANECDOTAGE:

Judging by the sale of personal safes this season, people are not taking any chances.

Amazon.com said that it had seen a major jump in demand for private safes, which may also reflect an erosion of confidence in the country’s banks after the financial crisis led to several high-profile failures. It said sales of one popular brand of private safes advanced to 260th place in Amazon.com’s ranking, up from a previous slot at number 2,755.

If you’re really going to store a lot of valuables at home in a safe, my advice is buy two: A cheap one, just barely light enough for two guys to carry away, which should be placed in an obvious location and filled with junk and maybe some of those cans of exploding snakes, and then a better one, well-hidden and securely bolted down, for your actual valuables.

UPDATE: Michael Bane reports on a problem with a Cannon Safe. A followup post is here.