Philosophy
Hmmmm, this is a tough one. I would keep the bucks and splurge on a bottle of Laphroaig 15 year old single malt scotch. How about you?
What would you do if you got on an empty elevator, looked down and saw a $100 bill on the floor?
Would you feel sorry for the person who dropped it and take the bill to the receptionist in the lobby? Or would you just quietly pocket it?
That was the choice my husband and son faced the other day on their way from a doctor’s visit. My husband told me his first reaction was to look for the bill’s rightful owner. My son had visions of treating all his friends to dinner at Olive Garden.
But his tale reminded me of another time, at least five years ago, when my husband and I were out jogging and saw a $50 bill on the road that ran by the middle school in our town. My husband insisted that we bring the money to the principal’s office and suggest that the secretary deposit it in a school fund if no one claimed the money.
I imagined the secretary shaking her head at our do-goodedness as we walked out the door and then going out to dinner with our found money. But as my colleague at Bucks, Ron Lieber, points out, being married to a man whose first instinct is to find the money’s rightful owner is a pretty good consolation prize.
This time, the fate of the money was different. My husband ended up keeping the $100 after he remembered that he had just paid a $30 co-payment to the doctor, the third co-payment to this same doctor for the same issue in the last few weeks.
Perhaps there was a middle way here. My husband could have put up a sign in the elevator directing anyone who lost “something valuable” in the elevator to send him an e-mail. If the writer could identify the item, my husband would return it.
So what would you do?
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My Fellow Comedists, It is time to once again pass the plate. Other religions ask you to donate money, but we Comedists tithe jokes. So dig deep and be generous. This weekend is my wedding anniversary, so what better time to ask for marriage and relationship...
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My Fellow Comedists, It's time to pass the plate again. In most religions they ask for money, but Comedists tithe jokes. In honor of Valentine's Day, let's do relationship jokes. So, dig deep and be generous. My offering is an old classic:...
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It's the end of the semester here in Ivory Towerland, meaning that everyone is alternating between punchy and pissy. What better time to unveil a new occasional series of posts I'm going to call "snark bait" in which a one-liner-worthy story is...
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Philosophy
Ethical issue
Hmmmm, this is a tough one. I would keep the bucks and splurge on a bottle of Laphroaig 15 year old single malt scotch. How about you?
"The Ethics of the Found $100 Bill"
by
Phyllis Messinger
May 25th, 2010
The New York Times
by
Phyllis Messinger
May 25th, 2010
The New York Times
What would you do if you got on an empty elevator, looked down and saw a $100 bill on the floor?
Would you feel sorry for the person who dropped it and take the bill to the receptionist in the lobby? Or would you just quietly pocket it?
That was the choice my husband and son faced the other day on their way from a doctor’s visit. My husband told me his first reaction was to look for the bill’s rightful owner. My son had visions of treating all his friends to dinner at Olive Garden.
But his tale reminded me of another time, at least five years ago, when my husband and I were out jogging and saw a $50 bill on the road that ran by the middle school in our town. My husband insisted that we bring the money to the principal’s office and suggest that the secretary deposit it in a school fund if no one claimed the money.
I imagined the secretary shaking her head at our do-goodedness as we walked out the door and then going out to dinner with our found money. But as my colleague at Bucks, Ron Lieber, points out, being married to a man whose first instinct is to find the money’s rightful owner is a pretty good consolation prize.
This time, the fate of the money was different. My husband ended up keeping the $100 after he remembered that he had just paid a $30 co-payment to the doctor, the third co-payment to this same doctor for the same issue in the last few weeks.
Perhaps there was a middle way here. My husband could have put up a sign in the elevator directing anyone who lost “something valuable” in the elevator to send him an e-mail. If the writer could identify the item, my husband would return it.
So what would you do?
- The Feast Of Saint Lucy
My Fellow Comedists, This week sees the feast of Saint Lucy, the 99th anniversary of the birth of Lucille Ball. Born in upstate New York, she moved frequently as a child because of her father's job until he died and she was sent to live with her grandparents...
- Passing The Plate: Marriage Edition
My Fellow Comedists, It is time to once again pass the plate. Other religions ask you to donate money, but we Comedists tithe jokes. So dig deep and be generous. This weekend is my wedding anniversary, so what better time to ask for marriage and relationship...
- Take My Wife, Please
My Fellow Comedists, It's time to pass the plate again. In most religions they ask for money, but Comedists tithe jokes. In honor of Valentine's Day, let's do relationship jokes. So, dig deep and be generous. My offering is an old classic:...
- Snark Bait
It's the end of the semester here in Ivory Towerland, meaning that everyone is alternating between punchy and pissy. What better time to unveil a new occasional series of posts I'm going to call "snark bait" in which a one-liner-worthy story is...
- Last Word Concerning Tianle Li
"Chemist sentenced to life" by Laura Howes October 3rd, 2013 Chemistry World A US-based chemist has been sentenced to life for murdering her husband with thallium that she obtained from her work at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). Tianle Li, who was found...