Maybe there's instructions on the heel?

[alexpgp]

Shamelessly stolen from LJ friend candid:

With tax my "turkey wrap" was $6.51. I handed the cashier a 20, she hit a button, and then she looked panicked and called over her co-worker:

"He gave me a 20, and I hit the 5 key!"

I couldn't understand how this could possibly matter, since the 5 key doesn't do anything except tell you how much change to give. Then the co-worker started to panic too, and it became apparent that NEITHER OF THEM KNEW HOW MUCH CHANGE TO GIVE ME ONCE THEY'D BLOWN THE CHANCE TO LET THE REGISTER COMPUTE IT FOR THEM!

I thought about telling them I was owed $53.49, but I figured someone else in line would rat on me, so I told them the right amount and they gave it to me.

This reminds me of an awful movie I saw about five minutes of, where a soldier from "today" ends up in a world centuries hence, where everyone is, um, well below average in the mental skills department (if you get my drift).

Truth is not only often stranger than fiction, but also occasionally accelerates fictional timelines.

Cheers...

Comments

[ex-greymaide85.livejournal.com]

As someone of relatively high intelligence who has worked fast food, let me speak in their defense:

The job is extremely and almost hypnotically monotonous. It really does require very little thought. After a few hours, the rest of your brain just shuts off, so when you are then asked to use it out of the blue it takes a while to "boot up" again. Some people's brains just boot slower than others. It is highly unlikely those cashiers did not know how to subtract. . .they just weren't prepared to do mental math after hours of brainless activity. I used to carry a notebook and pencil in my pocket so I didn't have to do mental math in these situations.