For casual viewers of television's dumbest-ever (though still hugely entertaining) game show Deal or No Deal, the job of a suitcase girl may seem like an easy one. Really, all they do is carry a suitcase over to a podium, then try to open it without exposing themselves (see above). But would you believe that many of the girls are actually highly intelligent and vastly overqualified? It's true! On the front page of today's Times "Arts" section, we learn that one passed the California state bar exam, another is the spokesperson for the Sarcoma Foundation of America, and yet another belongs to Mensa and plays the harp. One was Playboy's Miss August 2004, but we suspect she only did it to pay her way through med school.

This is all probably just another sign of impending recession, but is our national job market truly so depressed that we can't offer more to some of America's brightest minds? Surely there are some suitcases at Google or NASA that need opening, right?

You Think It’s Easy to Schlep Those Cases in Four-Inch Heels? [NYT]