Nickels Are Almost As Useless As Pennies
We've all seen one - the little dish or bowl at a checkout counter that's used to collect or distribute small amounts of change when it's needed or not needed.
Today, January 19, is the day to promote these little holders by adding $.07 to one of them.
You can, of course, do this in a number of ways. Throw in 7 pennies. Toss in a nickel and 2 pennies. If there's the proper amount of change already in the bowl, put your dime in and take 3 pennies out. Using a quarter is probably too much and goes beyond the spirit and purpose of the dish.
I don't know who first started this practice or how long ago it began, but someone must have realized (as pretty much everyone does today) that pennies just aren't worth the hassle. You could argue that even nickels now fall into the same boat...er, bowl.
I bet that the 62 people who control half of the world's wealth would agree; that is, if they've ever even had occasion to think about such a trivial matter.
I can't tell you what the proper protocol is, if, by the time you want to contribute your $.07 today, the bowl on the counter is overflowing. You may be allowed to wait until tomorrow to do your part. Or maybe you're permitted to take and use some of the change instead. After all, that's what it's there for.