It's interesting to look at how the Wall Street crisis influences so many different sectors of the economy.

The NY Post had a short item in this morning's paper about strip clubs being affected. Wow, they have truly mastered the power of alliteration:

WALL Street's financial crisis has trickled down to Manhattan's mammary meccas. A source tells us jiggle joints all over the city are seeing a drop in business, with fewer customers, less bar traffic and a drop in lap dances. "The strippers at Penthouse Executive Club are all moaning and groaning," one insider tells us. "They say they aren't making anything at all since the market crashed."

Manhattan's mammary meccas, jiggle joints? Genius. Although they forgot 'boob buildings', 'D-cup domiciles', and 'nipple nebula'.

But as unfortunate as it is for Manhattan's residents to get frugal with their paid toplessness, what's it like for the rest of the country? We'll take a look at one unfortunate recent anecdote that's too weird to ignore.

According to one of the most interesting AP news reports I've read recently, a small town in rural Lavonia, Georgia closed down its only strip club at the insistence of its residents. This ended the 7-year-long struggle against the club's owner, who tricked the down into letting him build his establishment by convincing them it as merely a family restaurant called 'Skeeter's Big Biscuits'. Although that would have been an awesome strip club name, it was eventually called 'Cafe Risque'.

The town sits in the middle of 'The Bible Belt' and therefore its residents were wholeheartedly resenting the building that was very popular with the long distance truck driving population. After the owner of Cafe Risque died, the mayor of the town worked through a middleman to buy up the property. The middleman purchased it for $776,000 and then the town paid that man $996,000 to hand it over to them. They don't care that they severely overpaid for it, they're just happy it won't be around for much longer. The AP story actually ends with a quote from a local woman saying, "It's the best money this town has ever spent. Whatever it took to get rid of it, we'll make it back. It's just money."

Priceless. Maybe Wall Street should take that approach too? Although I have a feeling no one living in a big city or working at a strip club would share that thought.

How are the strip clubs holding up by you? Let us hear in the comments section.

NY Post: Lap Deficit, September 22, 2008

AP: Ga. town closes its only strip club, September 9, 2008