Almon Brown Strowger was an undertaker and suspected that a rival buisness used their wife’s position as a switchboard operator to steal customers.
So he invented the automatic switchboard and put his competitors wife out of a job.
Came here to comment this. Are you a fellow Lateral Podcast listener?
Are you a fellow Lateral Podcast listener?
Indeed, though I have the feeling that I’ve known about this story longer then that. Maybe it was on QI?
QI could be right, I couldn’t have recalled that fact but I also learned it and I watch QI but not lateral.
Maybe I should be checking it out though
Lamborghini was a tractor company before they made cars. Ferruccio Lamborghini was successful and bought 2 Ferraris, one for him and one for his wife. He would drive his business partners to lunch in hhem, but he tended to burn up the clutches. He eventually discovered that they used a same inexpensive part as his tractors, but Ferrari charged 100 times the money for the same part. He spoke to Enzo Ferrari about it and the conversation did not go well. Lamborghini was so insulted by the reply that he started his own car company.
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a25169632/lamborghini-supercars-exist-because-of-a-tractor/
Tricking people to pay 100x its normal cost is pure unadulterated capitalism.
We have Enzo Ferrari being a prick to thank for the birth of Lamborghini, the Shelby Cobra AC, and the Ford GT40
I hate scammers. People who call you pretending to be the “IRS” and claiming that you’re about to be arrested for unpaid taxes. Sick bastards who make money ripping off (mostly elderly) people.
One time I started getting those phone calls. I went down to the customer service department where I worked, which still had a fax machine, stuck a blank piece of paper in, dialed the scammers number, set retry x100, and hit send.
I called them back an hour later to see if they were getting the message and the guy gave me an earful. I politely explained that every second of his time that I wasted was one less second he got to spend ripping someone else off. He hung up on me but I kept calling back until they finally disconnected that number.
Totally worth it. Fuck scammers.
You would enjoy 419eater.com
And Kitboga. I think I’ve seen nearly every video on “More Kitboga”.
Fidel Castro offering to send election observers to the US in 2004.
In the same vein, Joseph Broz Tito sending a letter to the Kremlin addressed to Stalin to stop sending assassins, because they always bungled their ops. He added “If you do, I’ll send one to Moscow and I won’t have to send a second”.
Stalin left him the fuck alone after that.
Tito smoking Cuban cigars in the White House while sitting down with Nixon is also hilarious.
Nixon told him, “Mr. President, we don’t smoke in the White House.”
Tito laughed and said, “Lucky you!” and finished his cigar and no one attempted again to make him stop.
King Harald of Norway, when asked by Trump about getting invited to talk about a Nobel Peace prize, decided to host Obama instead.
When we were kids, my brother would get mean when bored. Low-grade physical stuff, hard pinches, pulled hair, coming into my room to harass me and break toys, enough to cause pain without evidence if I were to complain. I asked my mom to intervene, she didn’t want to deal with it, so she gave me the old phrase, “if you don’t know what to do, spit in a shoe and do it again at half past two”.
So I spat in my brothers shoe every time he messed with me. And for good measure, I spat in my mom’s shoe too for letting him continue to abuse me.
But did you do it again at half past 2?
because useless family knowledge has to be easy to repeat in order to make it down the generations
Warren Buffett bought Berkshire Hathaway in part to spite its management. He had been buying shares for a while, and at one point offered them a chance to buy them back. They low-balled him on the price, he got pissed, took majority control of the stock, and fired the management.
Wish i har that kind of “fuck you” money haha
It sure does make it easy.
Heemeyer held various grudges against town officials, neighbors of his muffler shop, the local press, and other Granby residents. Over about eighteen months, Heemeyer secretly armored a Komatsu D355A bulldozer with layers of steel and concrete.
On Friday, June 4, 2004, Heemeyer used the bulldozer to demolish the Granby town hall, the house of a former mayor, and several other buildings. He killed himself after the bulldozer became stuck in a hardware store he was destroying. No one else was injured or killed.
The townspeople play so innocent in this story. I’ve lived in small towns and see right through their bullshit. The only reason they get away with it is the other party is dead and can’t defend himself.
The time I won at craps.
I don’t gamble. I’ll bet on things or play games of chance for money on occasion, but putting my money on a losing proposition isn’t my idea of a good time. When I go to a casino I go to the poker tables and that’s it.
The whole culture about it just seems so self-defeating and depressing. The superstition, chasing the high of that one-in-a-million lucky event. It’s not for me.
My older brother is mostly the same way, with one notable exception: craps. He’d been talking it up to me for years, telling me how it’s the most fun he’s ever had in a casino, and I should just try it with him and see what it’s like.
It seems too complicated, I told him. He said that you can just bet the Pass Line, which basically means you’re betting that whoever is rolling the dice doesn’t roll a seven. It’s a social activity, he explained, because the whole table is betting the Pass Line and rooting for each other.
The way he described it, a group of a strangers drinking, cheering for each other on their wins, commiserating with each other on their losses, I could almost start to see the appeal.
I downloaded an app and started asking him questions, which he answered patiently. Eagerly even.
Then I saw it.
“What’s the ‘Don’t Pass Line’?”
“It’s a bet against the person rolling the dice. Nobody really bets the Don’t Pass Line. It’s a dick move.”
A plan formed in my mind. “Ok, I’ll play.”
That night, I’m sitting at the craps table. To my right, my brother. To his right, our little sister. They sit me on the far left so I can get a feel for it before it’s my turn to roll.
The rest of the table is a smattering of dead-eyed gamblers. They looked preemptively disappointed, but ready to be amazed. Like they were ready to get caught up in a run of good luck, but they weren’t going to bring it themselves. Not the party I was promised, but there was some promise there.
First up, my sister. She rolls to set the point. We all put our chips on the Pass Line. Some of the gamblers make more specific bets.
She rolls again, and we win! She rolls again and again, and we keep winning. I see the spirits lifting around the table. There’s talking, laughing, cheering, free liquor, free money, and suddenly I get it.
Eventually my sister rolls a seven and her turn ends, but that’s ok because she already won the table a shitload of money. I’m up like $150 myself.
The table knows us a little by now. I’m new, we’re all siblings, and surely my brother will continue the hot streak.
But a plan is a plan.
My brother takes the dice and rolls the point. Everyone places their chips. I place my chips.
The dealer asks me, “Did you mean to put your chips on the Don’t Pass Line?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I meant to do.”
Silence. Then my sister: “You’re an asshole.”
My brother rolls again: seven. The Don’t Pass Line wins me a couple bucks.
I take the dice and proceed to go on a mini hot streak myself. I win like another fifty bucks, but the table never recovers. The mood is dead. I killed it.
That was probably twelve years ago. To this day, if it comes up, my sister will only call me an asshole again. My brother won’t talk about it at all.
Is that part of the superstition of it? Why are you an asshole for making a different bet? Surely it would’ve been 7 anyway, so at least you got something.
I don’t think it’s because the bet is different so much as it’s because the bet is against the person rolling. I’m betting that that person is going to “lose”. It’s just bad vibes.
But yeah, obviously my bet didn’t affect the outcome. That just makes it funnier that it worked out that way.
Craps is almost a team game.
If everyone plays the Pass Line (Shooter, the person throwing the dice has to play it) then everyone wins/loses together.
Everyone at the table playing the Pass Line is pulling for the shooter to make his point.
Now imagine if you have one person out of 8 playing the Don’t Pass. The person playing Don’t Pass line is hoping the other 7 players lose so that they can win.
It’s almost equivalent to everyone at the roulette table playing black. And you walk up and say “I hope it comes red”. Like why don’t you just hope it comes black so you can win when everyone wins?
My brother takes the dice and rolls the point. Everyone places their chips. I place my chips. The dealer asks me, “Did you mean to put your chips on the Don’t Pass Line?” “Yes, that’s exactly what I meant to do.” Silence. Then my sister: “You’re an asshole.” My brother rolls again: seven. The Don’t Pass Line wins me a couple bucks.
This doesn’t make any sense
- Once the point is established by the shooter on the come out roll, you cannot play Pass or Don’t Pass lines.
So after your brother takes the dice and rolls the point. You cannot place your chips on Pass/Don’t Pass. Maybe why dealer was confused?
- Don’t Pass Line pays on shooter rolling 2 or 3 on come out roll. You’d lose if he rolled a 7. Pass Line wins if shooter rolls a 7 on come out roll.
Second roll was a 7?
You’d have bet Don’t Pass before your brother ever rolled the dice for a second roll 7 to win the Don’t Pass
Bets after the shooter’s first come out roll are usually Come/Don’t Come bets.
If you made a Don’t Come bet instead of a Don’t Pass (Dealer was confused from your illegal play and considered it a Don’t Come bet.) You’d still lose if a 7 were rolled second. So that doesn’t make sense.
If your first bet was after your brother rolled once. The only way you’d win with him rolling a 7 on his second roll would be to play a SEVEN bet. Which would be an even bigger dick move than Don’t Pass because it’s a one turn bet that your brother was going to roll a 7.
I guess most likely you played the don’t pass before your brother ever rolled
It was years ago and I probably misremembered that part. I only skimmed your comment because craps is so boring, but yeah it’s probably whatever you said.
Thanks for the correction.
2007 starbucks, AZ. If a customer was an asshole, the worker they were an asshole to would request a restock of the sugar free classic so the Barista on bar could hear. There was no sugar free classic syrup. The drink would be made decaf.
It’s petty, but…dont be a dick
The name of that barista was Satan.
One particular spite house in Boston: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skinny_House_(Boston)#History
According to local legend, the structure was built as a “spite house” shortly after the Civil War:
… two brothers inherited land from their deceased father. While one brother was away serving in the military, the other built a large home, leaving the soldier only a shred of property that he felt certain was too tiny to build on. When the soldier returned, he found his inheritance depleted and built the narrow house to spite his brother by blocking the sunlight and ruining his view.
Another source states:
Not much is known about the city’s narrowest house. Legend has it that … its unnamed builder erected it to shut off air and light from the home of a hostile neighbor (also nameless) with whom he had a dispute. … Believed to have been built after 1874
There’s a Spite House in Seattle, WA, too. Spite from coast-to-coast!!
Space Ghost approved
Those were some nearly useless photos shown
That actually looks quite spacious for a big city. Where is the front door? Is there a site with more pics?
Equality House, bought and painted to irritate Westboro Baptist Church. It’s a tie with Mott House, listed on the same page.
I’d be worried to live there, not knowing what the westboro people might do to it.
My mate painted the side of her house rainbow in a pretty progressive area, and it’s since been vandalized multiple times.
My mate painted the side of her house rainbow in a pretty progressive area, and it’s since been vandalized multiple times.
When it was first purchased, it was an office for a few years. Nobody lives there now.
I’d be worried about that too. In some places you cannot insure an unoccupied (residential) building. But if it’s an office, maybe that’s different. I’m guessing the westboro property is also an office.
Stuart Semple hates Anish Kapoor. He hates him so much that he requires those who purchase his paints to sign that they are not Anish Kapoor, are not buying them for Anish Kapoor, and will do everything they can to make sure they do not end up in the possession of Anish Kapoor.
Semple is metal as fuck. He made the Pinkest Pink after Kapoor bought exclusive artistic rights to Vantablack, then after Kapoor taunted Semple with a picture of his middle finger dipped in Pink, Semple made Diamond Dust, which is glitter made out of literal glass shards. He also made Black 2.0 and later on Black 3.0 because fuck Anish Kapoor.
It’s not just Anish Kapoor he’s against; he’s against the whole monopolization of art materials and colours. He made TIFF Blue (versus Tiffany Blue), Easy Klein (versus International Klein Blue), and even Freetone (versus Adobe and Pantone).
I have the best answer ever. FriendlyJordies ‘bruz’ saga. A corrupt politician (essentially the top person of power in 1/4th of ALL of Australia) pissed off a political comedian and the comedian locked in so fucking hard and exposed so much corruption that the politician made a special task force to spy on him and arrested his camera man illegally.
This only caused the comedian to become even MORE determined to get revenge. He exposed so much corruption the super powerful politician ended up QUITTING HIS JOB because of ““bullying”” and his camera man walked free.
Also, hes a comedian so the video is HILARIOUS and there’s an AMAZING punchline like 3/4ths of the way in that’s a power move so fucking massive it’s INSANE I don’t want to spoil it but HOLY SHIT it was sooo good.
This is only like the stuff that I remember from watching it a few months ago, there’s even MORE. Dudes house got firebombed for his political advocacy.
10/10 AMAZING video. If you get a ‘justice boner’ you better cover your belongings in fucking tarps, it’s THAT good. If you have ANY time at all it is 1,000% worth a watch.
Actually his entire channel is worth a watch. Dude does AMAZING work and even as an American it is SO good to watch. Even his non political videos are HILARIOUS and will have you wheezing with laughter.
I sound like a paid commenter from reddit hyping a movie or sthm but my God it’s just THAT GOOD
If people want to watch the video and get the full experience, here is a re-upload: https://youtu.be/dC_8IY6WlHU
I don’t know the full story, but in the comments on the original video I read that Jordies was court ordered to edit out some parts of the audio because of “harassment”.
oh yeah I forgot that he had to censor some of the insults
That was awesome. Wish he would do one on TACO.
He’s Australian. The world doesn’t revolve around the US - most people actually don’t care about it.
I like FriendlyJordies, appreciate his humour and admire the work he is doing to expose corruption in Australian government. But man, I cannot stand his voice, and his affectation and his mannerisms. I can’t watch his videos anymore, it’s like nails on a chalkboard to me.
I know there’s been a few cases of people paying fines with wheelbarrows full of loose pennies.
Obligatory caution that that can backfire if the recipient insists that the debtor counts the pennies. Or if the creditor refuses the pennies entirely, which is legal in some jurisdictions. (e.g. in the UK, pennies and 2p coins are legal tender up to amounts of only 20 pence. Anything beyond that is left to the discretion of the recipient.)
In the US, pennies are legal tender and have to be accepted as payment for debts owed. This tactic usually ended up in the fine being dismissed.
Pennies only have to be accepted if there is a state law saying so. For example in California if a landlord refuses a cash payment (pennies or otherwise) then the tenant basically gets free rent that month. Businesses generally set their own rules as to what is accepted. Just like you see signs saying “No bills over $20” - 50’s and 100’s are legal tender, but they can refuse them just like a bucket of pennies can be refused.
Title 31 (Money and Finance), Subtitle IV (Money), Chapter 51 (Coins and Currency), Subchapter I (Monetary System), Section 5103 (Legal Tender) of the United States Code states:
United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues. Foreign gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts.
Since you feel like quoting things is conducive to proper discusion:
Is it legal for a business in the United States to refuse cash as a form of payment?
There is no federal statute mandating that a private business, a person, or an organization must accept currency or coins as payment for goods or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether to accept cash unless there is a state law that says otherwise.
Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled “Legal tender,” states: “United States coins and currency [including Federal Reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal Reserve Banks and national banks] are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues.” This statute means that all U.S. money as identified above is a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor.
Yes, you’re correct. That’s where the “debt” part comes in. If it’s before you incur the debt, they can refuse to accept any legal tender.
are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues
There is no federal statute mandating that a private business, a person, or an organization must accept currency or coins as payment for goods or services
Goods or services ≠ debts, public charges, taxes, and dues.
A retail store, a restaurant etc. can refuse currency from a customer but a loan/lien holder, a public utility company, a government entity or an HOA must all accept any legal tender.
You’re confusing two separate situations.
No, you’re confusing two separate issues.
If it’s before the point of sale, they can refuse any form of payment. If you’ve already accrued the debt, they can’t refuse it.
At no point in this entire chain was I talking about payment for goods and services. My original statement was about fines levied by the city or state, which is a debt that the debtor legally has to accept pennies for, or discharge the debt.
There is no federal statute requiring private lendors to accept payment in the form of coins. The coins are legal tender but they dont have to be accepted.
If payment offered in legal tender is refused, the debt would be cancelled.
There’s no requirement to accept cash for pre payments, but for debts cash must be accepted.
The discussion is about fines. I’m not sure why you’re talking about lenders.
Also, Title 31 (Money and Finance), Subtitle IV (Money), Chapter 51 (Coins and Currency), Subchapter I (Monetary System), Section 5103 (Legal Tender) of the United States Code states:
United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues. Foreign gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts.
So yes, there is a federal statue requiring private lenders accept coins as payment.
I don’t think that says what you think it does. Just because they are legal tender does not inherently mean (nor does that snippet say) that they cannot be denied as a form of payment.
Yes it does. It’s a legal form of payment, and if a lender denies it, you can sue to have the entire debt discharged because the lender is refusing legal tender.
If you’re a debt holder, you’re required by federal law to accept any form of legal tender as payment, which includes coins.
You really should read down to the bottom of that article, where it says that businesses are allowed to set the terms of what forms of payment they’ll accept as long as they do so before the deal is made or the sale is done. Your own source contradicts what you said.
Don’t quit your day job to start giving people legal advice.
I see child comments turning into some debate. lol
Wasn’t there a case somewhere where someone tried to pay a settlement in pennies, and then they themselves were fined?
Edit: maybe I’m thinking of this story https://www.costanzo-law.com/angry-employer-pays-in-pennies-then-gets-in-deep-legal-trouble/
Though it’s not entirely clear to me what law this violates regarding legal tender. Seems more to do with employer / employee labor relations.
My grandmother furnished an entire house with quarters in the 80s, all in one go. It was apparently around $1,000 worth of quarters.
