Making Cents

Leah, at The Goat's Lunch Pail, pointed out in her blog on Monday that Canada has stopped minting the penny.

Why, i again wonder, can't the US be so smart?

Every attempt at dollar coins has been a flop; the Canadians use one and two dollar coins regularly.

According to the news article linked above, cash transactions will be rounded to the nearest five cents.  And that, it seems, is the reason the US isn't following suit.

No one can agree on what should happen when your total gets rounded up and you end up paying an extra cent or two.

Some want it to go into the treasury, or let the business keep the money, or donate it to a charity.  There are so many arguments about this that we continue to make pennies because we can't solve that one problem.

We should be able to solve this.  Pennies are fun for kids, but a nuisance when it comes down to it.

And yes, i get that even thought it costs more to mint them than they are worth initially, the fact that each is used hundreds or thousands of times makes the cost-per-use worth it.

It doesn't matter.  With prices as they are now, pennies make no sense, and paper dollar bills don't, either.

So, nickel for your thoughts?


Today is:

Aldus Day -- death anniversary of Aldus Manutius, inventor of italics

Bob Marley Day -- Jamaica (birth anniversary)

Carnival de Ponce -- Ponce, Puerto Rico (through Mardi Gras)

Digital Learning Day -- here for detail

Gamelia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (anniversary celebration of the marriage of Zeus and Hera; date approximate)

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation -- United Nations

Lame Duck Day -- US, on the anniversary of the passage of the 20th Amendment to the US Constitution; a day to recognize those whose tenure is running out

National Chopsticks Day

National Girls and Women in Sports Day -- US

Oto Matsuri -- Shingu, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan (fire festival)

Pay-A-Compliment Day

Reggae Day -- Bob Marley birth anniversary

Rubik-Cube Muddling Championships -- Fairy Calendar

Sami National Day -- Finland, Norway, Russian, and Sweden

St. Dorothy of Caesarea's Day (Patron of brewers, brides, florists, gardeners, midwives, newlyweds; Pescia, Italy)

St. Peter Baptist's Day (Patron of Caceres, Philippines; Japan)

Waitangi Day -- Maori, New Zealand and Niue (treaty with Britain, 1840; also considered National Day)


Anniversaries Today:

The College of William and Mary in Virginia is founded by royal charter, 1693
Massachusetts becomes the 6th US State, 1788
Accession of Queen Elizabeth II, 1952 (upon the death of her father, George VI)


Birthdays Today:

Axl Rose, 1962
Natalie Cole, 1950
Bob Marley, 1945
Michael Tucker, 1944
Fabian, 1943
Tom Brokaw, 1940
Mike Farrell, 1939
Francois Truffant, 1932
Rip Torn, 1931
Mamie Van Doren, 1931
Zsa Zsa Gabor, 1919
Mary Leakey, 1913
Ronald Reagan, 1911
Babe Ruth, 1895
Aaron Burr, 1756
Nicolaus II Bernoulli, 1695
Chongzhen, Emperor of China, 1611
Christopher Marlowe, 1564


Today in History:

The United States signs its first treaty, in which France recognizes the US and promises aid, 1778
New Jersey issues the first US railroad charter to John Stevens, 1815
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founds Singapore, 1819
The first 86 African American immigrants sponsored by the American Colonization Society started a settlement in present-day Liberia, 1820
Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, establishing New Zealand as a British colony, 1840
Harper's Weekly publishes the first picture of Uncle Sam with chin whiskers, 1869
The international arbitration court at The Hague is created when the Netherlands' Senate ratifies an 1899 peace conference decree, 1900
The Young Women's Hebrew Association organizes in NYC, 1902
The "Monopoly" board game goes on sale for the first time, 1935
Turkey holds its first election in which women can vote, 1935
K Elizabeth Ohi becomes the first Japanese-US female lawyer, 1937
Elizabeth II becomes the first Queen regnant of the United Kingdom and several other realms since Queen Victoria, upon the death of her father, George VI, 1952
Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments files the first patent for an integrated circuit, 1959
Justice Mary Gaudron is appointed to the High Court of Australia, the first woman to be appointed, 1987
The Round Table Talks start in Poland, thus marking the beginning of overthrow of communism in Eastern Europe, 1989
Russia captures Grozny, Chechnya, forcing the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria government into exile, 2000