Last July, in the midst of a brutal heat wave, we visited the World Exposition in Shanghai. This was the first world’s fair ever hosted by the People’s Republic of China, and its government reportedly spent over $50 billion on the event, nearly twice the amount it spent on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Given the sheer spectacle and diplomatic value of the games, and how little attention the 2010 Expo garnered in the U.S., this sum is staggering.