The Eternal Misfortune of Pterodoria is a gargantuan, cultured nation, ruled by Someone with an even hand, and renowned for its daily referendums, feral children, and vat-grown people. The hard-nosed, hard-working, humorless population of 19.378 billion Pterodorians are either ruled by a sleek, efficient government or a conglomerate of multinational corporations; it's difficult to tell which.

The minute, corrupt, pro-business government, or what there is of one, is effectively ruled by the Department of Industry, although Defense is also considered important, while Environment and Law & Order aren't funded at all. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Pterodoria City. Income tax is unheard of.

The frighteningly efficient Pterodorian economy, worth an astonishing 13,701 trillion Pteralurias a year, is driven almost entirely by the private sector, which is broadly diversified and led by the Retail industry, with major contributions from Gambling, Soda Sales, and Information Technology. Average income is a breathtaking 707,074 Pteralurias, but there is a vast disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 6,623,076 per year while the poor average 6,357, a ratio of 1,041 to 1.

Bus ads propagandize causes ranging from sexual revolution to religious pogroms, stylish juvenile delinquents are highly overrepresented in fatal motorcycle accidents, human pie shops continue to receive shipments of meat from Spleeny Rodd's, and the best defense is a good fence. Crime, especially youth-related, is so common that it is unusual to encounter someone following the law, perhaps because of the country's complete lack of prisons. Pterodoria's national animal is the Pterodactyl, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Business.

Pterodoria is ranked 28^th in the world and 2^nd in the South Pacific for Highest Disposable Incomes, with 707,074.68 Standard Monetary Units.