The United Socialist States of Thorn153 is a massive, efficient nation, notable for its rum-swilling pirates, pith helmet sales, and feral children. The hard-nosed, humorless population of 3.509 billion Thorn153ians are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Defense, and Industry. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 62.8%.

The frighteningly efficient Thorn153ian economy, worth 453 trillion Deneroes a year, is quite specialized and dominated by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Tourism, and Beef-Based Agriculture. Black market activity is rampant. Average income is an impressive 129,309 Deneroes, with the richest citizens earning 5.6 times as much as the poorest.

Airport users are more worried about radiation than terrorism, the entire entry for Thorn153 in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the World reads 'mostly harmless', the state is footing the bill for billionaires' lawyers, and exports are stamped with "made by the invisible hand you commies". Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Thorn153's national animal is the Eagle, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution.

Thorn153 is ranked 25,135^th in the world and 665^th in the Rejected Realms for Most Subsidized Industry, scoring 6,300.92 on the Gilded Widget Scale.