

There's a free store on the small canadian island where my dad lives. It's basically a thrift store where you don't pay for anything.
The place is only open on Saturdays and you have to show up early if you want to get the good stuff. (Actually, I've heard volunteering is the way to go if you really want first dibs.) Anyhoo, H-town is very keen on "shopping" at the free store whenever we visit my dad.
But I didn't realize the concept had such an illustrious history.
According to
HI + LO, "in the 1960s, a group called
the Diggers opened numerous
Free Stores in
SF's Haight-Ashbury and
NYC's East 10th Street in which all items were free for the taking or giving."
Now two NYC artists have opened a new
Free Store in the Financial District, where goods can be obtained through trade.
I hate to say it, but some good things are coming out of the recession.