Unlike price inflation, “size inflation” is an underreported problem plaguing the world, according to The Economist. For example, size 14 women’s pants in the UK are actually four inches wider than a size 14 from the 1970s, which means today’s pair was formerly a size 18. Making people feel better by numbers and rank is an apparent epidemic. Consider seven-star (formerly four-star) hotel rooms, C-level school work from the 1980s now earning A’s, and the hiring of Chief Revenue Protection Officers who were once known as ticket inspectors.

(The Economist, 4 April 2012)