This past summer while working at the farm, my boss gave a recipe to me for pickled garlic and it called for 8 ounces of garlic. One of the rules is that when buying produce, another employee checks you out. I took a few bulbs, handed them to my co-worker to weigh them, he put them on the scale, and those bulbs weighed in at .5 of a pound.
"BINGO! Got that one right on the nose!"
What a silly little thrill and he had no idea what I was so excited about.
"Didn't you want 8 ounces?"
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A more recent story...
My mom collected the Snow Village series, it has been packed away for many years, and this year I'm setting it up in my new family room. I needed some "snow" to put on the shelves so off to Joann Fabric to buy some white felt. It should be a quick, easy purchase, right? It wasn't. The less expensive felt that was labeled white wasn't white. It was light gray. No dirty snow for Mom's Snow Village. The nice lady behind the counter took me to the other felt. The one that cost $15.00 a yard. Yikes. She was concerned about the price, I didn't want to pay $15/yard (I needed 4 yards. Do the math 4 x 15 = 60), but I didn't want to drive across town to another fabric store. Anyway, as she measured and cut $60 worth of nice wool felt, this sweet lady shared, "There's a 50% off coupon in the app."
I have the app. BINGO!
At the cash register, I showed the young lady the 50% off coupon. She informed me of another option - a coupon for $10.00 off a purchase of $50.00 or more.
"Can I use both?"
"No. Only one coupon per purchase."
"Well no, thank you. The 50% off is a better deal." She smiled and had no idea what I was talking about.
Next in line, please.
I was thinking recently, how lucky I was to be in school in the 1960s and 70s where basic math was taught before moving into engineering. And yes, I have used algebra and geometry as an adult, not a lot, but I can create a basic formula to calculate documentary stamp tax on a deed, and calculate how many cubic yards of concrete are needed for a sidewalk.
ReplyDeleteI, too, am glad I went to school in the '60s and 70s. The progression and application to daily was taught as well as the concepts.
DeleteI've noticed a large number of young people who can't make change without a calculator.
ReplyDeleteAt the farm, we do transactions on an iPad but it does't calculate change. I count up when giving change and the young ones look at me like I'm performing some magical math. They do their change calculations on their phones.
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