Picking Dollar Bills from the Street

[vinod1]

We go on long walks in the evenings and today I thought of an experiment.

 

I put two one dollar bills prominently on the grass right beside the walking path that is frequented by a lot of people. The dollar bills are quite visible to anyone walking on the path.

 

I wanted to check if people would pick up the dollar bills or are worried enough that it might have coronavirus and leave them alone. After putting them at the start of my walk and returned about an hour and half later.

 

Both bills are still on the ground. I would think atleast about 30-40 people must have passed by.

 

Just as I was about pick them back up, I thought what if someone has sneezed or handled it somehow and just left them where they are.

 

Same size of one, so does not really mean much, but might point to the level of risk tolerance at least in the local community.

 

Vinod

[fareastwarriors]

We go on long walks in the evenings and today I thought of an experiment.

 

I put two one dollar bills prominently on the grass right beside the walking path that is frequented by a lot of people. The dollar bills are quite visible to anyone walking on the path.

 

I wanted to check if people would pick up the dollar bills or are worried enough that it might have coronavirus and leave them alone. After putting them at the start of my walk and returned about an hour and half later.

 

Both bills are still on the ground. I would think atleast about 30-40 people must have passed by.

 

Just as I was about pick them back up, I thought what if someone has sneezed or handled it somehow and just left them where they are.

 

Same size of one, so does not really mean much, but might point to the level of risk tolerance at least in the local community.

 

Vinod

 

I still pick up coins including pennies unless it's covered in stuff.

 

Do you live in a richer community?

[meiroy]

https://www.reddit.com/r/metaldetecting/

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/driftwoodnic

 

 

[SHDL]

Alternatively the neighbors who saw them were all economists.

 

“No way that’s a real dollar bill, if it was someone would have taken it already.”

[Jurgis]

I still pick up coins including pennies unless it's covered in stuff.

 

Now we know who is a real value investor on CoBF and who is just a wannabe.

 

 

 

I pick up pennies too. Although by Bill Gates' test it's probably money losing activity.

[Midas79]

Just as I was about pick them back up, I thought what if someone has sneezed or handled it somehow and just left them where they are.

 

I don't mean anything negative or personal by this, but this sentence made me laugh really hard. The performer of the experiment was an unwitting subject all along!

[Jurgis]

So we were driving into Boston on Monday and there was a panhandler asking for money from drivers at the intersection.

He was not wearing mask or anything.

 

And people were actually opening car windows and handing him money.

 

Talk about going risky IMO.  ::)

[vinod1]

fareastwarriors - it is a upper middle class neighborhood. I pick pennies all the time too. Just the virus makes us a bit more cautious.

 

Midas79 - We had a good laugh as well.

 

Jurgis - I was thinking the same. How can I call myself value investor if I do not even pick dollar bills from the street.

 

Vinod

[Jurgis]

Jurgis - I was thinking the same. How can I call myself value investor if I do not even pick dollar bills from the street.

 

I was joking.

 

Although I would have picked the bills and washed and disinfected hands and bills afterwards.

 

 

 

 

And then FBI would have arrested me for money laundering.

[rb]

With the price of disinfectant these days you probably would have lost money.  ;D

[Jurgis]

With the price of disinfectant these days you probably would have lost money.  ;D

 

See, Bill Gates' test really works.

[rb]

Don't know about the test, maybe you can summarize.

[cwericb]

Its funny, I was thinking of all the crazy risky things I have done in my lifetime. Fast cars, fast boats, skydiving, and other dumb stuff I am too embarrassed to admit. Yet the other day I did one of the most life threatening things ever.  I went to the supermarket.

[Jurgis]

Don't know about the test, maybe you can summarize.

 

It basically says that it's not worth for Bill Gates to pick $100 bill from the pavement, since his time spent picking the bill is worth much more than $100.

For discussion:

[Jurgis]

Its funny, I was thinking of all the crazy risky things I have done in my lifetime. Fast cars, fast boats, skydiving, and other dumb stuff I am too embarrassed to admit. Yet the other day I did one of the life threatening things ever.  I went to the supermarket.

 

You have to admit that going to supermarket is much more fun that the other things you listed.

[rb]

Its funny, I was thinking of all the crazy risky things I have done in my lifetime. Fast cars, fast boats, skydiving, and other dumb stuff I am too embarrassed to admit. Yet the other day I did one of the life threatening things ever.  I went to the supermarket.

 

You have to admit that going to supermarket is much more fun that the other things you listed.

I would race a Ferrari through the empty streets of Manhattan with a 25% chance of Corona. Fuck it! That would be a good way to die!

[Jurgis]

Its funny, I was thinking of all the crazy risky things I have done in my lifetime. Fast cars, fast boats, skydiving, and other dumb stuff I am too embarrassed to admit. Yet the other day I did one of the life threatening things ever.  I went to the supermarket.

 

You have to admit that going to supermarket is much more fun that the other things you listed.

I would race a Ferrari through the empty streets of Manhattan with a 25% chance of Corona. Fuck it! That would be a good way to die!

 

But what would you do for a Klondike bar?

[rb]

Nothing!

[Jurgis]

Nothing!

 

Brand power is not what it used to be.  ::)

[Spekulatius]

Nothing!

 

Brand power is not what it used to be.  ::)

 

Right when COVID-19 went live in America in March, the crappiest brands and items were sold out. The high end stuff generally was still available.

[Jurgis]

Nothing!

 

Brand power is not what it used to be.  ::)

 

Right when COVID-19 went live in America in March, the crappiest brands and items were sold out. The high end stuff generally was still available.

 

So that was the reason I could not buy Ferrari to race with rb!  :o

[Pelagic]

Reminds me of something that happened to me a few years back. Where I live the practice of Santeria is somewhat common. It mostly takes the form of fruit and baked goods placed around palm trees as a fertility offering - I've seen perfectly edible looking cakes from local bakeries that would probably cost $50 placed on the ground.

 

The other, less pleasant, variety comes in the form of sacrificed animals, usually chickens and rarely goats. Accompanying the offering is almost always a bag of coins in cloth or paper bags. When I'm cleaning up an offering someone placed in the street near my house (I worry about my dogs eating them and they start to smell awful) I usually just toss the bag of coins after checking it for bills, especially if it's too gross to separate from the rest of the offering. However one time I was cleaning one up and the paper bag that the coins were in fell apart and out fell not only coins but several hundred dollars, it ended up being over $700 - so yes (hundred) dollar bills do occasionally lie in the streets around here. Aren't religions fascinating?

[neil9327]

 

Both bills are still on the ground. I would think atleast about 30-40 people must have passed by.

 

 

What would have been interesting, is if there were four bills on the ground upon your return.

It could have been the start of a novel pyramid scheme  ;)

[Jurgis]

Reminds me of something that happened to me a few years back. Where I live the practice of Santeria is somewhat common. It mostly takes the form of fruit and baked goods placed around palm trees as a fertility offering - I've seen perfectly edible looking cakes from local bakeries that would probably cost $50 placed on the ground.

 

The other, less pleasant, variety comes in the form of sacrificed animals, usually chickens and rarely goats. Accompanying the offering is almost always a bag of coins in cloth or paper bags. When I'm cleaning up an offering someone placed in the street near my house (I worry about my dogs eating them and they start to smell awful) I usually just toss the bag of coins after checking it for bills, especially if it's too gross to separate from the rest of the offering. However one time I was cleaning one up and the paper bag that the coins were in fell apart and out fell not only coins but several hundred dollars, it ended up being over $700 - so yes (hundred) dollar bills do occasionally lie in the streets around here. Aren't religions fascinating?

 

You know that you are voodoo cursed now, right?

[Liberty]

We go on long walks in the evenings and today I thought of an experiment.

 

I put two one dollar bills prominently on the grass right beside the walking path that is frequented by a lot of people. The dollar bills are quite visible to anyone walking on the path.

 

I wanted to check if people would pick up the dollar bills or are worried enough that it might have coronavirus and leave them alone. After putting them at the start of my walk and returned about an hour and half later.

 

Both bills are still on the ground. I would think atleast about 30-40 people must have passed by.

 

Just as I was about pick them back up, I thought what if someone has sneezed or handled it somehow and just left them where they are.

 

Same size of one, so does not really mean much, but might point to the level of risk tolerance at least in the local community.

 

Vinod

 

You not picking up your own bills reminds me of:

 

Warren Buffett retells the story of the dead oil prospector who gets stopped at the pearly gates and is told by St Peter that Heaven’s allocation of miners is full up. The speculator leans through the gates and yells “Hey, boys! Oil discovered in Hell.” A stampede of men with picks and shovels duly streams out of Heaven and an impressed St Peter waves the speculator through. “No thanks,” says the sage. “I’m going to check out that Hell rumour. Maybe there is some truth in it after all.”