Time for true confessions: This reporter's 17th century ancestor, a certain John Sims (News - Alert), came from England to Virginia colony compliments of the English crown, which was trying at the time to dump its trash in Virginia.

What they would do is go through a debtor's prison and say "Hey, any of you losers want to go to Virginia?" Seeing as how you, dear reader, know more about the moon than any of them would have known about Virginia, you can see how desperate they were to get the heck out of Old Blighty to say "yes."

According to The Consumerist, people are still being thrown into prison for debt, even here in 21st century America. And as it's unlikely you'll get sprung if you agree to sail off to an unknown land, you might want to pay attention.

Debt collectors "are effectively deputizing local police forces to collect on debts," Consumerist says, buying five to six year old debts "for pennies on the dollar from companies that have already written off ever collecting the debt. Then, the firms, frequently run by attorneys, employ a system of auto-dialers and call center teams to get the cash. They aim to get double what they paid for the debts. Anything after that is just gravy."

And it's true that "in some states and counties, the collectors can seek court orders to get debtors to pay, which can result in a civil warrant for the debtor's arrest. Some precincts then apparently have the luxury and manpower to enforce them and a deputy sheriff shows up on the debtor's doorstep and arrests them. The debtor can spend 24-48 hours in jail until their court appearance."

The point of bail, Consumerist says, is obvious: In some cases, the judge will set the bail at the exact amount of the debt owed.

'It's certainly an efficient way to collect debts, but it's also highly distasteful,' Hennepin County District Judge Jack Nordby told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

And one you might want to avoid.