Although apparently created in 1981, the OptionARM only hit the mainstream since the stock market bubble popped in 2001. (Note that we now have to clarify which bubble popping we mean.) The OptionARM purports to be a mortgage but comes closer to acting like a payday loan. A low initial payment usually not only doesn't pay down the principal, it doesn't even cover all the interest. So those buying these mortgages sink ever deeper into debt, typically realizing along the way that exorbitant fees await them should they try to refinance.

This BusinessWeek article starts to roll out the long-missing numbers. "And while they made up at least 40% of mortgages in Salinas, Calif., and 26% in Naples, Fla., they're not just found in overheated coastal markets: Through Mar. 31 of this year, at least 51% of mortgages in West Virginia and 26% in Wyoming were option ARMs." BusinessWeek offers up this even more beautiful map of OptionArm usage, the Map of Misery.