The European Union and the United States have jointly announced a new transatlantic timetable that dictates exactly which room citizens may use for eating and which for sleeping, in an attempt to align household spending patterns after official statistics revealed stubborn differences in food and housing costs.
Under the plan, Europeans will eat only in kitchens between 6:00 and 6:45, while Americans must consume all meals in designated dining rooms between 7:00 and 7:20. Sleeping is permitted exclusively in bedrooms, with a separate schedule for naps. Inspectors from the newly created Bureau of Domestic Spatial Economics will conduct surprise visits to ensure compliance.
«We are simply synchronising the physical layout of daily life with the spending data,» said EU Commissioner for Household Harmony Elena Vasquez. «If a family is found eating in a bedroom, they will be required to swap homes with a family that has been eating in the kitchen for three consecutive days.»
The US has responded by converting thousands of garages into official breakfast nooks, while European cities are building communal dining halls on roundabouts. Early reports indicate that furniture sales have tripled and that at least one town in Ohio has renamed every street after a line item in the household budget.