Today and yesterday, New Yorkers braved the elements and the tourist hordes and lined up in Times Square because some dude was handing out free money. It was not, unfortunately, the Naked Cowboy offering cash rewards to anyone brave enough to pluck Alexander Hamiltons from his tightie-whities, or Steve Schwarzman suffering a psychotic break. Rather, it was a promotion for BailoutBooth.com, a new website attempting to pioneer the concept of video classified ads. Those who waited in line, and then shared their story of why they deserved a bailout, received a minimum of $50 and as much as $5,000 from a guy called Bailout Bill. Crass? Exploitative? Kind of. But consider this quote from a homeless woman who scored some cash from the entrepreneurs: "I have no jacket, nowhere to live, and I'm sick. God bless this day."

Man Hands Out Cash in New York [BBC]