Slate V's Conventional Wisdom series pulls back the curtain on American subcultures by examining what's on display at unusual trade shows and conventions. These minidocumentaries will have you amused, and maybe a bit dismayed, at all the specialized products American industry comes up with.

Keeping prices low, fullness high, and stabbing at a minimum are the main concerns of the exhibitors at the annual prison food convention.

At the third annual Scrapbook Expo, stay-at-home moms ruminate about family, memory, and that uncontrollable urge to shop. Find out what keeps these women afloat in a sea of colored paper, sparkles, and products that do the remembering so you don't have to.

The funeral industry presents ways to make a killing at the annual mortician's trade show, where crematorium purveyors and coffin makers feud like the Sharks and Jets. Who will win your money once you kick the bucket?