A $50 billion wedding

Until this week I had no idea when this British royal wedding was taking place (it's Friday). I haven't followed it and don't care.

But apparently a lot of other people do care and are following it intently. In fact, enough British people care that it could take Britain's economy down a notch.

Brits were off of work on Friday (Easter Friday) and Monday (Easter Monday). They'll be off of work this coming Monday (May Day) and have now been given the day off on Friday as well (Royal Wedding). With just 3 work days (today through Thursday) on the calendar in an 11-day stretch, many people are just taking those 3 days off for a full 11-day vacation.

In other words, for 11 days, Britain is effectively closed.

CBS News reports a potential economic loss of $50 billion due to missed work. But hey, the U.S. workforce probably loses that much every few weeks thanks to Angry Birds, Solitaire, Facebook...