Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) is trying to live up to it’s name. They recently announced that they have stashed away 10 million dollars worth of gold so that they are prepared for the coming financial apocalypse. They expect to use the reserves to keep paying their employees should things go haywire and there is a run on the banks. Even though it’s unlikely people will be buying memory foam mattresses during such a time, Overstock is dead set on keeping their website up and running at all costs. It’s refreshing to hear a big company come out and at least admit that their are inherent risks in our system that people should be prepared to handle. I don’t know if we are in a bubble or not, but I do know that irrational exuberance always seems to win the day. No matter how much China struggles, or how long tension in the Middle East simmers, all anyone ever talks about is how exponential growth is inevitable. It could also be a publicity stunt, seeing as their Chairman is running for Mayor in Utah, a place where the idea of stashing gold has a lot of appeal. Regardless, it seems like a smart move not only to get people talking about Overstock but also to inject some much needed realism into the non stop US economic party. I wonder if this will cause a spike in applications to Overstock. I know I’d like to work somewhere that has set aside 10 Million in Gold and quite possibly has an underground lair to let it’s employees wait out a nuclear winter.* *Probably not, but maybe.