Not A Penny More
I know I've written about solicitations/bums asking for money before. My last post was about some chicks raising money to go to England. This time I passed a man holding up a sign that said "Need 78 cents". WTF? What would you need the exact change of 78 cents for?
I don't think he could buy any food with it--maybe a small bag of chips or a fountain drink at a convenience store. Let's face it, the cheapest things at most fast food restaurants are their 99 cent menus, which they all have because they are following Taco Bell's trend. Oops, he could get a taco, but he'd need an extra penny.
Why would you hold up a sign asking for exactly 78 cents. I would have stopped to ask him, but he was at a stop light that led directly onto a major highway. So he could possibly only get money from anyone who happened to be caught at that light. And from where I was stopped, no one was opening their windows--who would want all that truck dust, diesel scent and carbon monoxide going into their cars anyway.
I asked one of my friends what they possibly could want with just 78 cents. She thought maybe it was the cost of a senior citizen discount for a bus ride into the next town. Not!! This guy wasn't a senior citizen.
If anyone has any suggestions as to what this guy could possibly want with only 78 cents, please let me know.
I don't think he could buy any food with it--maybe a small bag of chips or a fountain drink at a convenience store. Let's face it, the cheapest things at most fast food restaurants are their 99 cent menus, which they all have because they are following Taco Bell's trend. Oops, he could get a taco, but he'd need an extra penny.
Why would you hold up a sign asking for exactly 78 cents. I would have stopped to ask him, but he was at a stop light that led directly onto a major highway. So he could possibly only get money from anyone who happened to be caught at that light. And from where I was stopped, no one was opening their windows--who would want all that truck dust, diesel scent and carbon monoxide going into their cars anyway.
I asked one of my friends what they possibly could want with just 78 cents. She thought maybe it was the cost of a senior citizen discount for a bus ride into the next town. Not!! This guy wasn't a senior citizen.
If anyone has any suggestions as to what this guy could possibly want with only 78 cents, please let me know.
posted by JM at
7:04 PM
23 Comments:
maybe he decided to ask for a little, so people would feel bad and give him more. you know, like if he asked for $20, people might think he was greedy, so he asked for a small amt. to look really really desperate. or maybe im looking way too much into this, haha.
By
j, at 9:13 PM
Three quarters for the laundromat, three pennies for luck?
By
JJ, at 9:25 PM
That is the exact amount of gas needed to drive around the block.
By
:P fuzzbox, at 9:43 PM
One of our local tv stations did a news report where they secretly taped a transient who stood on the street corner asking for money for food. I don't remember exactly what her sign said but usually they prey on you by saying they have no job, are hungry, oh - and God Bless You. At the end of her day the tape showed her going into a liquor store, buying a 40 and then taking it under the bridge to share with her friends.
I always heard about this but I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. Now I saw it for my own eyes.
By
SK, at 10:54 PM
He likes the sound of the change in his pocket?
By
Unknown, at 12:49 AM
He got your attention, didn't he? Aren't we all discussing about him. I think thats a brilliant ad campaign ;-)
By
Wriju, at 3:50 AM
That certainly is an odd number !!! Don't think there is anything here you can buy for 78 cents ... perhaps 1 and a 1/2 soft serve in cones at McDonalds !!
By
Meow (aka Connie), at 4:23 AM
Maybe he already had the rest to make enough of what he needed.
By
Cari, at 8:32 AM
Great job on your BvB post.
By
:P fuzzbox, at 9:18 AM
He wanted to buy some marhsmallow peeps?
By
Jacob Spradlin, at 10:10 AM
I think he did it in order to catch peoples' attention. And judging by your reaction, it worked.
Odd numbers have a way of doing that, our eyes are drawn to such things. Look at Wal-mart's prices for example.
$12.63?
The young guy is pretty smart. Either that or he's retarded.
By
Jay Noel, at 12:26 PM
I think it's a scam, a way of sounding authentic, and not like they do this for a 'job'.
Many times I have been approached near the bus station for small exact amounts for a ticket to wherever, but they are there the next day.
I have mixed feelings about the whole thing.
By
Anonymous, at 12:28 PM
He's an unemployed math teacher going for a joke. You ask him, "why 78?" and he says, "Because seven eight nine!"
That's why he got fired in the first place.
By
Gyrobo, at 3:44 PM
It is just a way to get money. No one is probably gonna count out exactly 78 cents. Its like this kid on Queen st west who has a sign that says smile if you masturabate. How could I not put money in his hat? He made me smile.
By
No one asked us, at 5:16 PM
well that is a puzzle, maybe he is not good with math and really meant 78 dollars...
By
eyes_only4him, at 6:32 PM
I like people who are goal-orietated. I would have given him 79 cents.
By
Dr Vegas, at 7:33 PM
it's like that supermarket trick where everyting costs 1.99 or 2.98 etc
he needed a couple of dollars in fact but wanted to put it nicely.
By
x, at 8:12 PM
Whatever his reason, I definitely feel bad for him. Even though he may be a bum, he definitely wasn't born one and perhaps a slide of bad luck got him there
cheers
By
Anonymous, at 1:12 AM
Humour. When you're down and out, that is pretty much all you have at times to live with. Using humour to get by often works, so I would'nt be surprised if this was such a case.
By
epicurist, at 12:07 PM
Penny candy at the local 7-11.
Mmmm...candy
By
Princess Pessimism, at 12:58 PM
Yeah I think that it was just a way to be original. Good on him.
I think that JPOD is not out in the US yet. His books usually get released a week or two early up here in Canada. Hope that you get it. I am reading it, interesting so far.
Cheers,
Scott
By
Scott, at 10:42 PM
Well, he had already collected enough to pay the only 2 bills he has... I'll let YOU guess what they might be. He needed 2 stamps to mail the bills
39+39=78
Let me know if I can be of any further assistance :) And, WHAT do I win???
By
Not-So-Naughty Voyeur, at 11:57 PM
Maybe its one of those things where he only really wants 50 cents, but he asks for more in the hopes people will give him it..but if they give him less he still makes what he needs?
Or maybe he's looking to buy something that costs an amount equally divisible by 78?
Maybe you could ask him if you see him again?
By
Anonymous, at 4:17 PM
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