Patrons at Berlin's Maison d'Envie (House of Desire) can take advantage of a unique discount when engaging the services of a prostitute. Present a bicycle helmet, padlock or bus ticket to the cashier, and get a near 15 percent discount off the full price of, et, um, well, you know.
Like most businesses in tough times, Germany's near 400,000 sex workers have been hit hard by the recession. Harried business owners are trying to find a way to keep business booming. This eco discount seems just the trick.
"The environment is on everyone's lips around here and it's pretty hard to find a parking space, so we came with the idea of an eco-discount," recports Regina Goetz, the matron in charge of the Maison d'Envie. She reports that the discount is so popular with clients that business is holding even despite the recession.
What a different a continent makes. In the United States all these folks would probably be rounded up and labelled sex offenders.