We had dinner in Glasgow on Thursday with friends, one of whom is working in the USA. At his place of work, they're considering running a book, taking bets, on when Obama will be assassinated.
The waitress overheard our discussion. "Oh we've already started a sweep on that here", she said. That's right. The staff in a small, nice restaurant in Scotland are having some harmless fun, placing bets on how long America's new president will live.
So how many other people are doing the same?
We cynical journalists are also running a sweep - on the name of the first puppy. And I thought we were meant to be hard-boiled!