Wizard's Blog

I was once caught by surprise in receiving a $2 bill as change when purchasing an $18 San Diego Harbor Tour ticket. Then I learned that was their custom.



I have been told that for years the adult ticket price for visiting Thomas Jefferson's Monticello was $17.95. Pay with a $20 bill and your change consisted of a $2 bill and a nickel, both with Jefferson's image on the front and a Jefferson-related image on the back. Today the ticket price is seasonal, at either $17 or $20, so the gimmick doesn't work any more.



I am quite confident that I would not bid $3.94 for a $2 bill. I have plenty of alternate means of wasting my money.

There were two bidders competing for your bill. The winner has an extensive history of small bill buying. I don't think there is anything wrong with selling your "surplus". It is meeting a demand, and by covering the postage, you are actually providing a service to those who may not have access to uncirculated bills from a bank, or feel that the hassle of the process is worth the extra $1.94. As long as the description is clear and accurate, you should be able to sell "ordinary" to anyone who wants to pay for it. It's what makes America the greatest nation on the face of this planet.



Note that you have other overhead costs besides postage: Envelope, insurance, time, listing fee, PayPal fee... The $1.94 may not cover it all.

It wouldn't be worth my bother to sell $2 bills for $4. However, if anyone else reading this wants to, have at it. I still think it is a bit unsavory, like selling a nickel for 10¢, even if you disclose the fact that is is just a nickel. I hate to take unfair advantage.

"Unfair" is the key. If the listing is clear, and the buyer "of his right mind", then why not make a sale?

I once bought a $100 bill on eBay. It was a star note. I cant remeber for how much, but not enough for the seller to make any money because of the fees.

Sometimes somebody will put on EBay California sample license plates with a Ronald Reagan background, which say "GIPPER." The auctioneer will say that the state didn't get enough orders to make them a legitimate license plate option, like the Yosemite or "Whale Tail" plate, but did make a limited number of samples available. What they don't say is that the samples go for a fraction of the EBay selling price at the Ronald Reagan museum web site. It seems dishonest to me to sell a product that is easily available elsewhere at a lower price. Now if you disclose that, and the buyer buys anyway, I suppose we could file that under "a fool and his money are soon parted."

The Reagan plate situation is tricky territory. I would not fault Target for failing to inform me that the same television can be had at WalMart for $50 less. The buyer has to do their homework. However, if Target represented the television as "exclusive", or "limited", it would be a problem. The Reagan plate description could be considered a misrepresentation by some.

LOL, Natalie Tran. She just gets better and better.

I read once that one off the biggest users of $2 bills are strip clubs. Think how well this works out. Price a drink at $3 so you give a $2 bill in change. Most guys will say "WTF" either upset or not caring and use the bill to tip the dancer. Now, I have heard the dirty little secret is the average girl at a club has to kick some part of her tips and private-dance-fees to the club. Best part is the club simply re-circulates the $2 when it sells another drink.



I have no problem if you list it and get a premium as long as it is honest--the fool and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place.



BTW: I find using and liking the unloved $2 is one of those signs of a "fun" personality type. Nonconformist in a good way.

Two dollar bills annoy cashiers so merchants just try to get rid of them so all these two dollar bills floating around the community can be good "advertising" if the merchants know the source of them. Tourists who get a two dollar bill are likely to spend it locally.

One military base put two dollar bills in their pay packets to dampen some local drive to close the military base.

I don't see this as an unethical arbitrage opportunity, the extra $1.94 is simply the opportunity cost of the time you saved the user by obtaining the bill yourself. It's normal profit.

I would also suggest people check the coins they get from the bj tables (ones that still use half dollars that is) as a few times you get some that are all silver. I got one once when surrendering a $5 bet, got my 2, $1 tokens and a half dollar from 1956 that I sold for more than the original $5 bet. Speaking of ebay, just watch the Tonight Show and once in a while Leno does a skit of "Things We Found on Ebay". All of which are real items sold on the site.

Well so far you get Jax and the Chi-town bet - not bad - just need the Cards for a sweep.

PIT being a fraidy cat and punting from BUF 35 on 4th and 4 led to the undoing of my 4-team (PIT, NE, NYJ, BAL) parlay. Yes all favorites. Should have come in if PIT wasn't fraidy cat :) After that punt they did nothing and should have lost. But my 4-team teaser on the same teams came in so that's something.

what's with the Cardinals? Players took San Fran and threw the game?

Was that good ol John Paul Jones? As in the Scottish JPJ that was a Captain in the US Navy and formerly a pirate.

Correct! The Bonhomme Richard vs the HMS Serapis. The captain of the Serapis was knighted for the gallant defense of his ship. I've read that when Jones heard of it he proclaimed "if we should meet him again, I'll make him a lord".

The Mon Ami Gabi makes a wonderful cocktail called the "French 75". I offered our waiter at dinner an extra $10 on his tip (great meal , great service) if he could identify the origin of the name; and while a nice young man, he was not a military history buff. Anybody, anybody?

But the question is, did you get maximum value for your entertainment budget?

Oh, absolutely. We had a table right on the railing of the outdoor terrace. The weather was perfect and we watched the crowds and the Bellagio fountains as late afternoon turned to dusk and all the neon came on. Got out of there for less than $100 for two including drinks so, yeah. Good value.

"French 75" refers to a ship of the line in the age of sail, carrying 75 guns.



Do I get the $10?

No Calder, The 75 refers to 75mm. The bore of a French field artillery piece from about World War One. Fairly rapid fire and its recoil-absorbers meant it did not have to be re-positioned after each shell was fired.

In the age of sail, a ship of the line would be referred to mainly by the weight of the projectiles its gun fired and also at times by the number of gun decks it had, since the main weapon was its broadside, a discharge of all canon that would bear and were clear of the water.



Sharks and Jets... thats easy. When you're a Jet, you're a jet all the way from first cigarette to your last dying day.

Now as to "Struck? I have not yet begun to fight!" Jean Paul probably did indeed say that. Much of our history books are full of utter nonsense though. Millions for defense but not one cent for tribute may be an admirable statement, but the poor guy that was attributed to always maintained he said no such thing.

Fleastiff wins! The French 75mm field piece may have been the first of its kind because of its recoil absorbtion system. As to 'fighting sail' ships were rated by the number of guns on the main gun deck(s); thus, HMS Victory(104), Santissima Tinidad(120), USS Constitution(44). Sorry to drag the thread so off course, my enthusiams get the better of me.

I do a simuler thing to random people for $20 they have two chances.. the first is to name me all 7 of the 7 deadly sins OR all 7 of the 7 heavenly virtues. Nobody has ever been able to remember all seven. The second is a very simple geography question that is based on a technicality.



To date Ive never lost that $20 and still carry it around on me for the challenge. :)

I've a hunch that a lot of the people posting here would be killer Trivial Pursuit players.

You want the real killer in Trivial Pursuit... check out the declarations of war on the Empire of Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor. I'm just waiting for that question to come up in barroom trivia: The United Nations of the Navajo and the USA.



For those who think advertising doesn't pay, I often say: There are ten mountain peaks in Colorado higher than Pikes Peak, name even one of them. It was a comment about advertising but one Trivial Pursuit nut actually was able to name them all!!

FleaStiff, I knew that one! The biggest gun of ww1 was not the Big Bertha, btw; it was the French 520 rail gun. Big Bertha was notable for its range.

Big Bertha? Rail Guns? They were monstrously slow to fire. Fusiliers were soldiers supposedly detailed to protect canoneers but actually deployed to prevent desertion by canoneers. The way to stop a siege gun was to go after the gunners. The rail guns were marvels of engineering and military stupidity.



Trivia contests in bars: Great fun, but often the waitresses are a few chapters ahead of you. Some of those Tray Lizards have masters degrees. They are not just babes in low cut costumes toting booze around all night. Many of them can do truth tables and give you an analysis of all those The Tribe Who Never Lies and The Tribe Who Always Speak Truthfully puzzles.



Now as for the John Paul Jones quotation and the Sharks versus the Jets questions, I sure would hate to run into anyone who could NOT get those right while sober, but realize that while drunk things might vary.

My sister put herself through grad school at Notre Dame by waiting tables. Yeah, that WW1 stuff, fascinating time in military history. I don't think she'd have gotten the French 75 question, but then again, she hasn't spent hours looking at exhibits of shell art, either.

I'm delighted at all the comments, as well as the post about Croupier's trivia challenge. I may put something together myself as a warmup.



By the way, I went back to the Red Rock for dinner yesterday and ran into the same cocktail waitress. So I confronted her and asked "How did you get that?" She said that she went to Catholic school and they put that musical on lots of times. Shoot, just my luck. Great gal though, if I must throw away $50, I'm happy it was on her.

I spend too much time in the local Buffalo Wild Wings, just to play their NTN / Buzztime trivia games.



Obviously, I never get the question on the French 75 correct...

So, what would be good some gambling or casino related trivia questions ?



For example, I liked the post from MathExtremist that the sum of the #'s on a Roulette Wheel is 666.



And how about this one: What did Wayne Newton leave at the airport in Michigan.

Anyone know ?

What did Wayne Newton leave in MI? His voice, maybe? Cause its certainly gone..

I can only hope Pennsylvania and Delaware hold out on the Blackjack front, but I agree with you, I think since they are not making a "healthy" profit, they will argue they need H17 and Crapjack to survive.



-B

I went straight to the link to make sure it wasn't that Atlantic City Wizard of Odds trying to ride your coattails again.



Nice article !