Visa aspirants buying air coolers to get quick approvals

Economists, as well as those who don't bother to understand economics, have been baffled by the findings of a recent market research which showed a sharp rise in people buying air coolers even before the heatwave started.

They were shocked, more mercilessly than the shock Real Madrid gave to Man City fans and their allies from Catalunya, when they found that 99 percent of these customers were western visa aspirants who had applied soon after buying the machine.

"Guys, I have a mouth-watering offer for you. Bought this air-cooler just a couple of days ago, and yesterday my US visa was approved. So, now, I am here to sell the greatest machine of this generation just for Tk 19,000 although I spent Tk 20,000 to buy it," a boy from Dhaka posted anonymously in a 'Buy & Sell' group claiming his cooler to be able to make people's living rooms cooler than Antarctica.

"I have been having a good time since I bought this air-cooler last week. Today, I learned that my good moments are over and I have to leave the country soon as my Canada visa was granted. I am selling it at a 5 percent discount. Please inbox me for the price," another boy named Tausif from the same group explained why he was selling the air cooler despite loving it more than anything, and of course, anyone.

A meticulous visit to some of these Facebook groups revealed a few more reasons why people are selling this. Some were accusing it of causing snowfall while some were accusing it of being too good to keep. A man even claimed that his wife was threatening to sell it as he was giving it more attention than his wife.

Experts also found that there was a snowball (pun is a happy accident) effect. The youth made the connection between buying the air cooler and being granted visas, and they started buying this supposed "golden key", although most didn't need the air coolers as their homes were already well air-conditioned.

This unprecedented market trend baffled the whole nation which, even, eminent scientists of the country couldn't explain as they refused to tag it a 'miracle'.

However, our correspondent confronted some visa aspirants to know their next move amid the nationwide unexplainable trend.

"Months passed but my application remained untouched. So now I am here to buy an air cooler, hoping for an ultimate solution," a visa aspirant said before heading to the shop.

"I applied for the US visa several times and every time my application was denied. Eventually I applied again and bought an air-cooler simultaneously, and the rest is history. Now I came here to thank the shop owner and will have lunch with the friend who suggested that I buy an air cooler while applying for visa," another man said.

Our correspondent contacted one of the "visa winners" who had already sold their air cooler, and asked whether the sudden sale had anything to do with the extreme heatwave rendering the machines useless.

"Of course not, my living room was like the Arctic tundra. You cynics just get in the way of business… ahem… staying cool, I mean. Anyway, can't talk now, have a flight to catch," he said as he started walking in the general direction of the airport without any luggage.