#819 The Take A Penny, Leave a Penny Bowl

Neil Pasricha

take-that-pennyNobody likes pennies.

Sure, maybe in the 1800s they scored you a handful of gumballs or the evening edition of your local Times-Express, but these days they’re barely worth 1% of a Snickers bar. Go on, lick the edge of a Snickers next time and scrape off a few molecules of chocolate with your tongue. That, that right there. That’s a penny.

Of course, having said that, there is one moment where the value of a penny shoots sky-high, and that’s when the beef jerky and Red Bull at the gas station rings up to $5.01. Yeah, if you’re cringing right now, it’s because you know that’s a terrible price leading to a few Checkout Possibilities:

1. By The Rules. One option is just to roll with it. Break that ten and get ready for a mittful of change back, including the dreaded 4-Penny Punchout. Now your pocket is bursting and your hand smells like dirty copper, but what are you going to do? You played by the rules and you lost.

2. The Cashier Cheat. You can never predict when this will happen. Sometimes you’re expecting to play by the rules but the cashier will just round around for you. When Bill-Counting Betty don’t care about the till balance, she just drop you a nickel and a wink.

3. The Bowl. Finally, we come to the main attraction. Since you don’t want ninety-nine cents jingle-jangling around your pocket, you eye the Take a Penny, Leave a Penny bowl and see what it’s offering. You know you’ve made your deposits over the years, so you don’t feel guilty about a little withdrawal now.

Yes, the Take a Penny, Leave a Penny bowl brings out the best in us. Just remember: take a penny, leave a penny?

Take a favor. Leave a legacy.

AWESOME!

Victory

Photos from: here, here, and here

16 thoughts to “#819 The Take A Penny, Leave a Penny Bowl”

  1. I’ve never seen a penny bowl in Australia. Namely, because there are no pennies in Australia. And sadly, “Take-a-five-cent-coin-leave-a-five-cent-coin” just doesn’t have the same ring to it…

      1. There are debates on whether or not the US should continue having them. I expect within the next year or so, ours will be gone as well.

        1. Nooooooo, they can’t nip the penny! It’s a fond part of my childhood! Awwwwww…

          1. They’ll have to make all those penny squishing machines into nickel squishing machines. I have one squished and has a picture of Elvis’ house on it from when I went to Memphis. Lilly has one from when we went to the zoo in Louisville. It has a snake stamped on it.

          2. I am Canadian. Just the other day someone said as we turn the pennies into the bank to be sure and look for rare years of more value, some $10. As I went through the jar, some as old and older than I, memories flooded in. As we say goodbye to the penny, I am :(
            A VERY fond part of my childhood too, indeed! bust seams on a Saturday after earning a dime for cleaning every nook and cranny of the whole house! I felt the climb onto my peddle bike whipping down the big hill, then up the other, the asthma, worht every penny to reach the Jack and Jill’s store in Lynn Valley. Running into the store and standing before the big 1 cent candy bins. Smell of sweetness! The wee brown paper bag ’bout to bust at the seams We could buy a whole lot of candy with 5 pennies!
            2 bananas= 1 penny
            2 strawberries= 1 penny
            2 black cat gum= 1 Penny
            one long pixie stick= 1 penny
            3 mojos= 1 penny…
            The 5 cent toy store next door! And voila, allowance spent well!
            And now what are we to do with the hot cross bun song!

            *Take a favor, leave a legacy…B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!! So very Maslow…Love it and aspire to live it!

  2. I worked at a store with those trays. It did come in handy when someone was a few cents short, but some people just took advantage of it.

  3. I often leave a number of pennies and even nickels, dimes and quarters…the “take a penny” bowl has helped me out many times and I believe in giving back!

  5. I don’t think I’ve ever taken a penny. The cashier has for me though but I always feel weird if I took it myself. I do leave pennies though.

  6. Yeah! Good old Take a Penny, Leave a Penny Bowl. Always there when you need it. Sadly, no more pennies here in Canada. I’m saving all my pennies for the future, when they’ll be like antiques or something. I feel like I’ll end up being like one of those old people that always complains about how better their day was. I’ll terrify my grand kids with horrific stories of the one-cent coin.

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