Imagine sitting on the couch watching TV, rubbing your already fairly swollen belly, and listening to someone from the government or national bank with an equally swollen belly announce price hikes. Immediately, the representative's belly begins to swell larger and then you feel your own body expand too. A rush of air filling you out, pushing your middle out further and further, straining against the fabric of your clothes, popping a few buttons and maybe even bursting your belt until you reach a size that's in line with the new inflation rate.

I'd have a much greater interest in economics if that were the case! Sure, things would become more expensive, but I can't help but shake how good it'd feel to get bigger every time the rate goes up. Ordinary people would probably hate inflation. Not only are your grocery and energy prices going up, but now you can hardly fit through the front door of your own home! Inflation fetishists would probably get a secret kick out of it.

The question is though how would it work? Would our bellies blow up in line with prices or would they do away with price hikes and replace it entirely with a new system of inflation where our bodies expand solely? How big would we even get? Would a 1% increase in inflation make a huge difference or would it be more subtle? Would there be a single global inflation average, where every single human on the planet blows up by an equal amount, or would it be like it is now, with different inflation rates per country? Imagine the size of people in the likes of Venezuela! Would we be able to blow up to any size or would we explode if inflation gets too high? Would you get bigger if you cross into another country with a higher rate of inflation than your own or would it depend on your citizenship or residence? Would we fill up with air, water or something else entirely?

I think this would be a fun little concept to explore, as serious as economic inflation may be, and could be interesting as the basis for a story. I'm sure the economists in the room will be able to add to how this crazy new world would work but in my humble opinion the IMF should start implanting us all with microscopic pumps that blimp us up in line with the inflation rate.

Next time you're watching the news and someone mentions inflation, enjoy that funny feeling in your tummy.