Springwise.com: In tough times, people often turn to strange outlets for their feelings of anger and the need to strike back at someone, or something. Enter Sarah's Smash Shack. "Customers in San Diego can choose fragile tableware from the Smash Shack Menu—for example a set of three glass flowers for USD 10, or the House Special, which consists of 15 plates at a cost of USD 45. They’re also welcome to bring in their own breakables to pulverise for a ‘corkage fee’ that starts at USD 20. After donning protective gear, smashers are escorted to one of the break rooms, where they stand behind a waist-high barrier and hurl their arsenal at a stainless steel wall. To make the process more personalised, customers are encouraged to bring their own soundtrack on MP3, and to write messages on whatever they’re about to throw. There’s also the option of flinging objects at a photo or mantra of choice. A VIP room is available for group smashes." Seems impossible that someone could make a successful business out of smashing up stuff, but maybe there are enough fed-up worker bees with a penchant for busting stuff up (Office Space, any one?) to make this work. Read the entire article for more on faux-violence anger therapy.

BusinessWeek.com- Innovation: Reena Jana reports on an on-going report by New York-based architecture and design firm Gensler with a focus on the relationship between workplace satisfaction and profitability. The data suggests that when things are good for the employees, things are generally good for the business, too. Jana writes, "82% of employees of the most profitable companies said they were satisfied or highly satisfied with their offices, compared to only 43% of those who worked at companies with average profits (among the corporations represented). Companies whose employees participated in the survey rated their workplace as “highly effective” saw an average of 28% three-year profit growth. Those who rated their offices as not very effective saw only 14.4% three-year profit growth during the same period." There are other questions and answers of interest in Read it here first: Gensler’s 2008 Workplace Survey Links Office Satisfaction and Financial Performance.

Also from BusinessWeek.com: The International House of Pancakes is a long-time favorite of many breakfast eaters with an eye on cost and value but with a lagging sales and out-of-date menu choices the chain found itself in need of a change. Enter former IHOP waitress, and now Chief Executive Officer Julia Stewart. Stewart took on the tough job of steering the venerable casual dining franchise back to profitability and a greater market share and made use of a number of powerful tools that any business can put to use. For starters, Stewart organized the monies needed to purchase a franchise with more responsibility on the owners instead of taking on the debt at the corporate level. "Beginning in the mid-1980s, IHOP lent entrepreneurs most of the $1.9 million it generally takes to open a new restaurant. That's an unusually enticing arrangement in the restaurant business, but it was cooked up at a time when IHOP was so poorly regarded that it had no other way to attract franchisees. It worked, too: IHOP doubled the number of its locations in the 1990s. The strategy hardly offered a sweet return on capital, though. Now, Stewart is taking a more traditional tack: Franchisees have to borrow the money somewhere else. This will mean fewer new restaurants -- perhaps 80 this year, down from 96 in 2002, she estimates. But, Stewart adds, the switch will help IHOP grow faster in the long term because it'll be leveraging other people's capital." A timely choice in light of the current credit crunch! Further details in Bringing home the bacon at IHOP? by Christopher Palmeri.

TechFlash.com: Bill Gates has a new "secret" venture according to a recent articleby Todd Bishop and Eric Engleman. "Public documents describe the new Gates entity -- bgC3 LLC -- as a “think tank.” It’s housed within a Kirkland office that the Microsoft co-founder established on his own after leaving his day-to-day executive role at the company this summer. Is this Bill Gates’ next big business? A Gates insider gives an emphatic no  -- saying it’s not a commercial venture but rather a vehicle to coordinate the software mogul’s work on his business and philanthropic endeavors." Various official papers give hints of what Mr. Gates has in mind with his brain bank including tax documents, trademark applications and state records. Any guesses as to what out-of-this-world things might come from this latest tech effort?

ComputerWorld: The upcoming Presidential election could turn out to be much more pivotal in the ability of America to continue to dominate the scientific and technology sectors due to the lack on funding and poor policies implemented under the current administration. In Dear Mr. President: Let's Talk Tech, Gary Anthes asks ten top experts in the technology and science fields to make some recommendations for the next President to ensure future generations of citizens will continue to enjoy the fruits of research and development. Here's a sample of one of the offerings from Judy Estrin, CEO, JLabs LLC; author of Closing the Innovation Gap. "The future of our economy and our quality of life will depend on our ability to sustain a culture that supports and promotes the ability to innovate. The nation faces major challenges -- energy independence and climate change, national security and the need for affordable, quality health care -- that threaten our future. Each of these challenges also brings opportunities, if we give innovation the attention it deserves. One of the most crucial roles of the next administration will be to foster the right environment for innovation through wise funding and smart policy. But it must also re-energize the nation by embracing these challenges, providing a vision to inspire and engage the country at large, and bring out the innovator in each of us."

And yes, you can be sure that Germans still love David Hasselhoff, this being Fun Fact Friday and all...