This is 99% invisible. I'm Roman Mars. Today we're bringing you a story about something that wasn't thought about for years, something that thousands pushed out of their minds that they were told they didn't have to worry about, only to have it come back to haunt them.

It's a story from our friends at Planet Money. It's a podcast about economics.

Possibly the biggest thing that we all collectively try not to think about, only to have it greet us at the grocery store, at the gas station, even in our homes.

And this episode does a really great job of illustrating how massive

forces pull at the economy like tides and create ripple effects in our lives.

I am a huge fan of this podcast and if you don't already listen I

highly recommend you do. This episode is one of our favorites brought to you by

reporters Chris Arnold and Robert Smith.

This is Planet Money from NPR.

One spring morning, a couple of years ago, Karen McDonough was having her tea at her dining room table.

She lives in a cute little two bedroom place in Quincy, Massachusetts.

She looks at her window to the neighborhood beyond and she sees something unusual.

They were like 20 cars and they all came at the same time and they parked like in front of my house

across the street, up the street and down the street.

I just had this feeling like something really bad had happened.

She was right. Something bad was definitely happening to her.

And then I saw people get out and then they were like coming to my lawn.

And I'm like, why is everybody at my house?

Karen puts on her shoes, goes out to the driveway.

At this point, a group of men are milling around the lawn, casually dressed, except for one guy who seems to be in charge.

There was somebody I think he might have had a uniform on or something and he had a piece of paper.

And I said, what's happening and he goes we're selling your

...