quicko: annual leave

Americans, you definitely want to be sitting down before progressing.  I have just learned something about Australia's "annual leave" (i.e., vacation days) and it absolutely floored me.  I suggest proceeding if and only if you are currently quite happy with your life and not at all prone to envy.

When Australians are on their vacation days, they get paid 17.5% more than when they're at work.

Seriously.  Based on how contracts are written, it's sometimes worked in slightly differently, but the concept is definitely there.  I've been told that the reason stems from ages past when workers would, as a general principle, work overtime regularly to make ends meet and the government realized they couldn't make up that overtime work while on holiday with just their normal hours accounted for -- so unions eventually forced it to incorporate the 17.5% into law and no government since could possibly revoke it.  Go figure.