[ExI] the fun they had

[BillK]

On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 8:31 PM, spike  wrote:
<snip>
> Asimov's conjecture came true long before he envisioned in a way.  If one
> collects all those who make change in fast food restaurants, one would
> likely find that plenty of them cannot do arithmetic at all, even given a
> pencil, paper and time.  The cash register tells them everything they need,
> down to giving them the option of just entering which bills and coins were
> given them, and having the cash register tell which bills and coins to
> return.
>
> I worked a short stint as a cash register operator at Burger King.  I knew
> all the dollar complements by memory: if I saw any two digit number, I knew
> from memory one dollar minus that number, without having to subtract.  This
> was in the late 70s just before the electronic cash register became
> universal, when the old mechanical tills were chinging their last kachings.
>
>
> I didn't stay long, for it caused resentment among my colleagues that I
> immediately went up to the counter without having to pay dues flipping
> burgers in the back.  I never did learn to actually make a Burger King
> whopper.  But hey, I could make change for four hours and have the till
> balance to the penny at the end of the shift.  Numbers are my friends.
>
>

Some stores in the UK don't have the modern tills that calculate the
change the way you describe.  I have fun sometimes when the total is
2.83 by giving the operator 3.03 (and expecting a single .20 coin in
change).  Some almost have a mental breakdown as they stare helplessly
at the odd sum of money I give them.

I sometimes make a profit on the deal if it is more complicated.
Recently the total came to 7.52 and I offered a 10 pound note plus a
.02p coin (expecting 2.50 in change). After a bit of hesitation, I was
delighted to receive 3.50 in change.

BillK