Empty perfume bottles are still for sale on Iranian classified sites. ILNA reported the listings Sunday as part of a wider dump of household leftovers: used work shoes, second-hand clothes, and bottles that would once have gone in the trash. This paper's Monday clinical note treated the listing as liquidation. Tuesday the ads still appear. [1]

Sellers now bundle several low-value items in a single ad to raise the chance of a buyer. Iran International said the same inventory includes natural hair sold for extensions. [1][2]

A used shoe still has a use. An empty bottle has only the last rial that someone will pay for glass and a memory of scent. ILNA said everyday objects are being used until they have no remaining economic value. [1]

X stops at the image. The agency's point is the market. When the classifieds treat residue as inventory, inflation has finished the argument about discretionary spending. Year-on-year inflation stood at 87.9 percent in the print ILNA cited. Hair ads have become more common beside the bottles. [1][2]

Monday's paper did not need a new metaphor. Tuesday does not invent one. The classified line is still the record.

-- NORA WHITFIELD, Chicago