Just found this little article on the Globe and Mail. Apparently, as part of the coming austerity program (at least, that’s how it was presented), Canada is moving to replace its paper banknotes with polymer plastic ones in late 2011. This is the stuff that Australian banknotes are made of.
Congrats, Canadians! Next time your friend throws you in the pool fully dressed with money in your pocket, your money won’t be ruined!
First thing I think of when I think Canada is “funky”! :dubious:
They mean Winkerbean, don’t they?
Well, after that Economist cover came out a few years ago, we got quite the reputation.
Just think you’ll be able to wash the money when someone just pulled it out of their shoe or worse place and gave it to the cashier that gave it to you.
… can you not already wash Canadian currency? The American stuff goes through the wash all the time, no problems.
Uh, if you can’t, pretty much my entire bank account is a living miracle. I put my clothes through the wash with money in the pockets accidentally all the time (well, when I have money, that is) (and frankly, having the money in my pocket is probably an accident to begin with somehow) and I’ve never had a bill dissolve on me.
Now, tell me, will this magic technology enable me to keep the bills in my wallet longer? Perhaps keep them from flying out like little birds to be spent on whatever catches my eye?
I personally have laundered many bills and they were fine.
My driver’s license on the other hand :o
As noted, we have them here. They’re good. There are in my view simply no bad points about them, assuming they are made from the same stuff as the Australian ones. They’re tough, light, unwettable, washable.
Longer circulation life, reduced counterfeiting, a bit more colour and pizzaz for branding purposes etc , so using Securency makes the decision a bit broader than an austerity measure … and a nice little earner for our Reserve Bank.
Securency notes are issued 29 countries.
•Australia
•Bangladesh
•Brazil
•Brunei
•Chile
•China
•Guatemala
•Honduras
•Hong Kong
•Indonesia
•Kuwait
•Malaysia
•Mexico
•New Zealand
•Nepal
•Nicaragua
•Nigeria
•Northern Ireland
•Papua New Guinea
•Paraguay
•Romania
•Singapore
•Solomon Islands
•Sri Lanka
•Taiwan
•Thailand
•Vietnam
•Western Samoa
•Zambia
By washing I mean they won’t retain water. You can pat them dry.
One thing though - don’t microwave them. Rumour is, they end up as a fairly expensive keychain thingy.
Ah, but what will happen to making plastic notes when all the oil runs out? 
I wonder whether that will catch on here. Then we could all be guilty of a bit of “money-laundering”. You know, if it was a REALLY boring day.
Note to self: Google to find what’s the story about this funky Winkerbean mystery thing.
The microwave thing reminded me of the two pound coins we have in the U.K. They have a silver -coloured circle inside a gold-coloured (oh, let’s call it circle - too tired to find the correct word), and apparently when they were new, some people were quite entertained to find that if you put these coins in a freezer, the inner circle would drop out. What the heck is the point of ruining your money? Weirdness!
That problem would make a coin pretty much useless in Canada or Wisconsin. The first cold night in car change tray and they’d all have a hole in them.
Celyn, how about ‘ring’
On a related note, I just found out about spocking fives from the dope. How will this with plastic money?
We switch to ‘virtual’ stone coins, like the Yapese used. Don’t need to carry them around; just keep track of who owns them.
When the toonie ($2 coin) was introduced, there was a brief fad for popping the middle of them out as well. Or trying to, anyways; I never had any success with it.
I just want to know if they’ll still call it the ‘luney’. Personally, I was hoping for a new name.
(How about the ‘Slinky’? Hey, its fun for a girl and a boy… )
The loonie is, specifically, the $1 coin. It will remain a coin. (“Loonie” is also the nickname for the Canadian dollar as a currency.)
Can they be folded?
American money isn’t made of polymer, and it doesn’t get ruined if you get pushed into a pool.
Phones, on the other hand…
The Loonie is the one dollar coin, 'cause it has a loon on it.
The two dollar coin is the one with the gold circle and the silver outer ring. It’s called a Toonie. It is sometimes called a Moonie, because it has the Queen on the front, with a bear behind.
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