Weird Business News: Etsy angers witches, Buenos Aires needs clowns and more...

This week in weird business news…

Strange magic

Etsy (ETSY) may be the online marketplace for crafts but don’t even think about going there for witchcraft. The quirky e-tailer has cracked down on members selling spells and other metaphysical items, and the community is up in arms. Ashley Coulton, who operated a popular store that offered crystals and tarot card readings, has started an online petition to reverse this ban. She writes, “This is discrimination against Pagan and Wiccan faiths, as this ban will target certain sellers and items. Many stores have already been closed.”

Etsy’s official policy bans “any metaphysical service that promises or suggests it will effect a physical change (e.g., weight loss) or other outcome (e.g., love, revenge).”

Wicca is a fast-growing religion in the U.S. According to the American Religious Identification Survey, In 2009, 342,000 people identified as witches, up from 134,000 in 2001.

Clowning Around

To run a proper hospital you need doctors, nurses and patients of course. But if you’re in Argentina you also need clowns. They say laughter is the best medicine right? Argentines are taking that maxim to heart. A new law passed in the country’s largest province, Buenos Aires, requires all public hospitals to hire specially trained clowns to aid and entertain young patients. The law gives hospitals leeway to decide how many clowns they need and how frequently they need them. The Buenos Aires province is home to about 15 million people and 70 public hospitals.

Can’t afford a Porsche? Buy an apartment.

It’s fair to say that Chinese developers are getting desperate. They’ve created an inventory of unsold homes that’s seven times larger than Manhattan and the debt keeps adding up. So what’s a real estate mogul to do? Add incentives, of course. According to Bloomberg, some developers are promising free Porsches to anyone who buys a home. Others are going the boring route and offering steep discounts or the ability to defer down payments. Hey it might be a bubble, but look at my new Porsche 911!

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