I confess that I don't regularly read KnoxNews.com, a website with news of interest to residents of Knoxville, Tennessee. But fortunately for me my friend Frank Murphy does and he tipped me off to this interesting recent article:
"Defacing money is a federal offense. At least that's what we've been told. Frankly we're too lazy to look it up.
Illegal or not, fear of arrest isn't stopping a lot of people from scribbling on money. You've seen it yourself. Heck, you've probably even done it yourself. And you've probably tried to figure out what on Earth the writer meant by her ink-pen musings.
Stuff That People Write on Money collects 71 photos of just such monetary doodles. Attempt to decipher them for yourself at www.sorabji.com/.
You'll find plenty of different messages that were inscribed on funds and sent back into the cash flow. Grocery shoppers jot down their lists. Lottery enthusiasts record their favorite numbers. Forgetful motorists scrawl parking spaces. Disgruntled citizens make snide political digs. Star-crossed lovers let the world know that they're together. People practice their signatures. And quite a few former presidents sprout facial hair and afros.
So the next time you visit an ATM or bank teller, you may not just be getting cash to purchase a Nintendo Wii. You might also be getting a menacing warning about angels taking over the world or an urgent message to 'free the werewolves.'"
The last paper currency-based site I remember hearing about is WheresGeorge.com, which exists to mark and track bills as they travel across the world. It's kind of neat to find out a bill you just received in change in your neighborhood has recently been to the other side of the country, then to Asia and back.
Hey thats a pretty cool website and seeing the old ten dollar bills. It is especially funny when gangs write on the bills. Maybe just a so cal thing
Posted by: Raul | July 20, 2008 at 08:14 AM
When people "practice their signature" on dollar or five dollar bills its usually to play a game called Dollar Days on a movie set. Everyone writes their name on a bill and throws it in a hat. Then a production assistant or some other peon chooses a bill and all the money goes to that person. Sometimes the director will match the pot and someone could go home with an extra $1,000. in their pocket. Helps morale durning a 14 hour work day.
I've used wheresgeorge.com. I got a dollar bill in change at the In N Out in Sacramento, CA which came from Washington originally, and brought it back to Long Beach. Pretty cool.
Posted by: Sarah | July 20, 2008 at 08:24 AM
One of the photos made me think that writing on a bill would be a great way to get a message to a lot of people. Political, ethical, or some other message that you would like a lot of people to see...what a subtle attention getter!
Posted by: Nicole | July 20, 2008 at 09:22 AM
What I love about Sarah and most other people in the "entertainment" industry is that they think theirs are the only jobs that matter.
I guarantee that the tiniest fraction possible of people who write their names on a bill are playing some stupid Hollywood movie set game. There are a hundred other more likely reasons to do it.
Sorry to rant, Bean, but I get so tired of show business megalomaniacs.
Posted by: Anne | July 20, 2008 at 09:23 AM
Yeah Anne, SHE'S the egomaniac.
Anyhoo...
I did the WheresGeorge once, very disappointing as I was the first person to report that bills location.
Posted by: Vic Rattler | July 20, 2008 at 10:17 AM
I always wondered if you were ever gonna report on wheresgeorge.com. It seems like the sort of thing you'd find interesting.
I did that once, it sucked. My bill came all the way from the exciting land of Irvine. And I just went back to check it again and got this:
"Due to monthly database maintenance the Your Bills page is periodically cleared.
Your Bills reports currently in queue: 0."
LAAAMMMMMEEEEE!!!!
Posted by: Frances | July 20, 2008 at 04:45 PM
Remember the quarters with the pink nail polish? I got those in various parts of the USA
Posted by: mary | July 20, 2008 at 08:36 PM
Wow I had forgotten about WheresGeorge.com. I just logged in for the first time in ages and I got that "monthly database maintenance" message too but you just click Refresh and there were the 3 bills I had registered in 1999... NO HITS! I'm going to start using it again, if I get $1 bills again. I barely ever use actual cash anymore.
Posted by: NIcki | July 24, 2008 at 12:50 PM