Age-Old
Money Questions Answered Here!
Why did people in Ireland believe there was gold at
the end of rainbows?
They didn't. It was all a big misunderstanding.
Rainbows are formed when light hits droplets of
rain. Each droplet acts like a prism, splitting
the light into different colors, each of which is
bent at a slightly different angle. That's what
forms a rainbow. Because the light source, the
sun, is a circle, and because light travels in a
straight line, the rainbow is a circle as well.
In order for the sun's rays to refract so we can
see them, the sun has to be within 42 degrees of
the horizon either rising or setting. That's
pretty low, which means we can never see the full
circle of a rainbow - we just see the top part of
the arc.
As far back as the 17th century, the Irish
understood this. And they were fond of saying that
one was as likely to find a pot of gold as to find
the end of a rainbow. The expression somehow
changed and became a part of fairy mythology.
Why
do we put our pennies in a "piggy" bank?
Well, we don't actually know the artist's name,
but we know why he did it.
In medieval England, clay was known as "pygg."
People would usually put their coins in their pygg
dishes or jars when they came home. These were
commonly referred to as "pygg banks."
An English potter, around the year 1600, was asked
to make several of the pygg banks. Unfamiliar with
the term, he made several banks shaped like pigs,
with a slot in the backs for the coins.
The customer was not disappointed and, in fact,
ordered more for friends. The charming idea caught
on and quickly spread through Europe.
Interestingly, pigs - the animals - took their
name from that same root word. Instead of clay
made from mud, they were the animals who lived in
mud.
Why do we tip the
server in restaurants?
There is an interesting and often told origin for
the word "tip" as a gratuity to a waiter, or
server as we call them now. But, alas, the story
simply isn't true.
While there were boxes in English inns and
pubs that were used to hold coins to "tip" the
waiters, there is no evidence that these boxes
ever had the words "To Insure Promptness" written
on them. The English would have bristled over such
obvious extortion.
Rather, the word comes from the 16th century verb
"tip," which meant "to give unexpectedly." The
English word was derived from the German word
tippen, which means "to tap."
The expression "hot tip," as in a sure winner in a
horse race, also comes from the act of tapping. In
the old days, during card games, gamblers would
have an accomplice in the room. This accomplice
would signal the player regarding the contents of
an opponent's hand by "tipping the wink" - that
is, by tapping out a code with his eyelid.
Is it really illegal to
damage money?
Yes, it is illegal to purposely deface money.
However, the U.S. government will replace worn out
or damaged money if three-fifths of it is still
identifiable. Two-fifths will earn the bearer half
the face value; less than that gets nothing.
In any case, until the 100th anniversary of
Abraham Lincoln's birth, there wasn't a coin one
could "deface." That was when the first U.S.
portrait coin, the Lincoln penny, was issued.
The one thing every American coin has had since
the Revolutionary War is a design with some symbol
of liberty on it.
What did President
Truman say "stops here?"
Surprisingly, it had nothing to do with money. He
was referring to a knife with a buckhorn handle.
While playing cards, players would move the dagger
around the table as a way of keeping track of
whose turn it was to deal the cards.
When the buck "stops here," it is time to pick up
the cards, shuffle, deal and play.
The word "buck," when used to mean money, comes
from the word buckskins, which fur trappers
used as payment instead of currency.
Though cards gave Truman his buck, it should be
noted that they did not give us a phrase that is
commonly attributed to them. Winning something
"hands down" did not come from placing winning
cards face-down.
As a matter of fact, it comes from horse racing.
If a horse was well ahead of the pack, the jockey
would let go of the reins and put his "hands down"
on the horse. This gave the animal free rein
. . . and us another expression!
How much is a ton of
money?
I
am sure you must have heard or used this
statement. Well, just how much is a ton of money?
It sounds like an incomprehensible amount. But how
much is 2,000 pounds really worth? Naturally, the
answer depends on the kind of money you’re
weighing.
According to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing,
all U.S. bills weigh the same: one gram. About 454
grams make a pound, which means that a ton of
dollar bills would be worth $908,000.
With coins, it is a different story. A quarter
weighs 5.7 grams, according to the U.S. Mint;
therefore, a ton of quarters would be worth
$40,000. With pennies, it gets worse. You need
363,000 pennies (at 2.5 grams each) to make a ton,
and the value of the pennies is a paltry $3,632.
So, the next time someone refers to a ton of
money, ask them to be more specific!
HOW TO SAVE MONEY:
Sound advice from kids like you!
“Open a savings account ASAP and watch it grow when
you don’t spend it!”
Coram, age 14
“Don’t spend it.”
Maddie, age 9
“Put some away in a secret spot every time you get
some. Then forget about it.”
Holden, age 10
“Decide what you want to spend it on and then work
to get enough money to buy it!”
Monica, age 11
“Make deposits in your savings account a habit.”
Faith, age 17
Did you know that this same advice is essentially
what the experts recommend? It’s true! They just use bigger words
to say the same thing. But if you learn to start saving now,
you’ll be way ahead of the pack.
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