Many times when I go to a store and pay for something with a $20 bill, the cashier will take out a pen and make a mark on the bill. Does anybody know why they do this? I've seen this happen so many times, and I'm wondering what the story behind it is.

The pen/marker tests the paper to tell if its real or a forgery.

Okay, thanks for the explanation. I knew there had to be some method to the madness.

CarrieMpls said:

The ones from North Korea are printed on the same paper though. Still interesting, never knew why they did that. Over here they use UV lights and other things.

animal said:

In the U.K. they lick the notes to see if they can taste any cocaine, hence genuine.

senik said:

senik said:

Or the saliva of another cashier.
.

Whoa, there are places dat do this? I work in retail- never once have i had to do it myself it would be annoying actually I mean eftpos (debit/credit cardz) take long enough as it is to go through- i love it when a customer just givez me cash to put through- it takez secondz and there'z no chance of "transaction cancelled...offline voucher" - which makez me cringe wif delightz.

...then they print out a 5 foot receipt, and stack your bills and coins on top of that and hand the whole mess to you. And when you try to pull the receipt out from under your change (because it won't fit in your wallet), the money falls all over the place.

Tom said:

THAT'S annoying.

As is when they pile the coins on top of the bills.

The materials Americans currency is made from is shit (although, I love all 'em pretty pictures and art work! ). Australia has the best when it comes to currency its all most impossible to recreate, that why we RARELY have people makin' forged copies. Mind you I don't say a lot of nice things about Australia.
[Edited 3/21/05 1:23am]

Emancipation88 said:

Maaaaate!

lilmissmissy said:

Hey what can you say about a country that has is like 90% desert?

cahiers always think I got fake shit. They hold the note up to the light the muthafuckers.....

It's because your white.
[Edited 3/21/05 2:32am]

And wear cheap clothes.

Emancipation88 said:

I used 2 feel da same way but you can say alot. There is alot of storiez dat go behind those desserts, you just have to educate yourself a lil more about the our indigenous culture- or at least try n remember dat it is in da indengenous culture dat holdz da key of what you may be able 2 say about dat 90% dessert. And dat other "10%" are like pocketz of differently influenced culturez of 'Aussieness' dat has progressed in da last 30 yearz.

I mean if you can say dat about Australia then honestly what can you say about planet earth wif most of it'z geographical make-up being vastly made up of good old H20?

meow85 said:

That's one thing I truly hate about the States, the way they hand you back your change. Sometimes they just slam it down on the counter. That shit hardly ever happens over here.

thesexofit said:

its because you think hippys are ugly and all your other judgements on people

lilmissmissy said:

It's more to the fact that all that desert is not substainal for living or buliding on and that australia as a low population. Yes I do educate myself more on the issue since I am doing geography.

Mach said:

lilmissmissy said:

90% dessert. We live on a dessert island

Yeah sorry. That was rather bold. Same about JW's. Anyway I rephrased my reply as it were on that thread. Keeponsmiling.