# Why do hipsters pay for things in quarters? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 15, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450 "2011-02-15T15:16:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/21 "2011-02-17T01:24:14Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > What is a hipster? It’s a person younger than you that you don’t like. Any such person. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/22 "2011-02-17T01:58:05Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > What is a hipster? Definition > [@](#): > > Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses. Both hipster men and women sport similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of messy shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs. Such styles are often associated with the work of creative stylists at urban salons, and are usually too “edgy” for the culturally-sheltered mainstream consumer. The “effortless cool” urban bohemian look of a hipster is exemplified in Urban Outfitters and American Apparel ads which cater towards the hipster demographic. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/23 "2011-02-17T12:56:34Z")
> [@Tanaqui](#): > > Of all the social ills I’ve seen hipsters accused of, this has got to be the most bizarre. You know why there are so many mice in the world? Hipsters breed them for the circus, but they forget to lock their cages at night, so they escape and infest our cities like a fuzzy, twitchy plague. Top that. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/24 "2011-02-17T13:31:21Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > It’s a person younger than you that you don’t like. Any such person. And hipsters have been around since the 1940’s; the name just [fell out of fashion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hipster_(1940s_subculture)) for a while. > [@](#): > > Hipster, as used in the 1940s, referred to aficionados of jazz, in particular bebop, which became popular in the early 1940s. The hipster adopted the lifestyle of the jazz musician, including some or all of the following: dress, slang, use of cannabis and other drugs, relaxed attitude, sarcastic humor, self-imposed poverty, and relaxed sexual codes. San Francisco columnist Herb Caen coined the word “hippie” to describe the wanna-be hipsters flocking to his city by the bay. Just as he’d invented “beatnik” for the [Maynard Krebs bongo-playing types](http://forums.thefashionspot.com/showpost.php?p=735503&postcount=47) inspired by The Beats. I think the Nuevo Hipsters are kinda cute. Better than the Douchebags! ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/25 "2011-02-17T14:02:47Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > It’s a person younger than you that you don’t like. Any such person. Not really accurate. I don’t like a LOT of younger people who aren’t hipsters. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/26 "2011-02-17T16:21:53Z")
[QUOTE=Finagle] My only guess is that this is the same demographic (young presumably apartment dwellers) who spend a lot of time at laundromats. [/QUOTE] Unless they’re robbing the laundromat, they’d be more likely to hoard quarters at home in anticipation of laundry day. At least that’s what I did when I lived in an apartment building that had a coin-op washer and no change machine. But then, I never wore skinny jeans and thick-rimmed glasses. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/27 "2011-02-17T16:26:44Z")
I found, to my delight, that Japanese 10yen coins (worth .10 at the time, perhaps .14 now) worked perfectly as substitutes for quarters in my apartment building laundry room. Heh heh heh. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/28 "2011-02-17T16:45:22Z")
My last girlfriend had a knack for arcade games, the types that gave out money if you won. She once paid for a DVD in ten pence pieces. The cashier went in the back to get the DVD, and when he returned, we’d piled up sixteen neat columns of ten pence pieces to make it easier for him. He still insisted on counting them out one by one, maybe as revenge. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/29 "2011-02-17T18:21:27Z")
… maybe he counted each one out to make sure none of them were Japanese yen coins. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TheTerribleTako](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@TheTerribleTako](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTerribleTako)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/30 "2011-02-17T20:28:06Z")
It’s because, as with most things pertaining to hipsters, they’re broke. I think all the weird things that hipsters do can be understood if you just understand that they’re penniless and trying to spin poverty into a lifestyle. Wearing ugly vintage clothes that’s more suited for your grandma? 10 pieces for $5 at the local vintage store. Mismatched furniture? Cheaper to scavenge furniture off the side of the street. Ride a bicycle to work? Can’t afford gas. Using quarters and other coins to pay for purchases? Two days till payday and they’re raiding their laundry money and couch for spare change. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/31 "2011-02-17T20:32:23Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > San Francisco columnist Herb Caen coined the word “hippie” to describe the wanna-be hipsters flocking to his city by the bay. Don’t most people today think of hipsters and hippies as entirely separate demographics? ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/32 "2011-02-17T20:36:57Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Don’t most people today think of hipsters and hippies as entirely separate demographics? Yep. Hippies are penniless douchebags, and hipsters are a entirely different kind of penniless douchebag. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/33 "2011-02-17T20:46:16Z")
$5.50 for a PBR and shot of Jameson at most hipster bars = quarters in the pocket. ---
**Author:** ![pope\_hentai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/34 "2011-02-17T20:52:41Z")
> [@TheTerribleTako](#): > > It’s because, as with most things pertaining to hipsters, they’re broke. I think all the weird things that hipsters do can be understood if you just understand that they’re penniless and trying to spin poverty into a lifestyle. > > Wearing ugly vintage clothes that’s more suited for your grandma? 10 pieces for $5 at the local vintage store. Mismatched furniture? Cheaper to scavenge furniture off the side of the street. Ride a bicycle to work? Can’t afford gas. Using quarters and other coins to pay for purchases? Two days till payday and they’re raiding their laundry money and couch for spare change. you’ve obviously never been to one of the hipster “vintage” shops then, talk about sticker shock! ---
**Author:** ![TheTerribleTako](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@TheTerribleTako](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTerribleTako)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/35 "2011-02-17T23:33:31Z")
The hipsters I know must be lower rent. I have had the unfortunate experience of stumbling into one of those overpriced vintage shops. $35 for a pair of ratty Converse? From a place that smells disturbingly like a convalescent home? No, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/36 "2011-02-18T00:18:51Z")
I’m considering paying my mortgage in dollar coins in order to take advantage of the credit card miles for no shipping us mint dollar coins technique. I hope people don’t start accusing me of mouse related hijinx. /end highjack ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/37 "2011-02-18T01:07:57Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > It’s a person younger than you that you don’t like. Any such person. Damn, there’s a lot of them on the loose. We don’t have any on the SDMB do we? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/38 "2012-09-18T16:08:54Z")
> [@cuauhtemoc](#): > > You know why there are so many mice in the world? Hipsters breed them for the circus, but they forget to lock their cages at night, so they escape and infest our cities like a fuzzy, twitchy plague. > > Top that. Why did the hipster burn his mouth on pizza? He ate the pizza before it was cool. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/39 "2012-09-18T16:47:17Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > I read yelp a lot. I’ve read several complaints about service being slow because hipsters were paying for things in quarters. No you haven’t. Googling “[site:yelp.com ‘paying in quarters’](https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Ayelp.com+quarters+hipsters&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe=#hl=en&safe=off&rls=com.microsoft:en-us%3AIE-SearchBox&sclient=psy-ab&q=site:yelp.com+%22paying+in+quarters%22+&oq=site:yelp.com+%22paying+in+quarters%22+&gs_l=serp.3...14032.14032.2.14086.1.1.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.Tp6kqlOouZA&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=f6600ddf0c979847&biw=1280&bih=843)” turns up 360 results, a quick perusal of which reveals quite a few people testing the wait staff’s patience by paying quarters. Unless you’d like to link us to a small sample of these reviews you’re talking about. Which I doubt you’ll do. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450/40 "2012-09-18T16:52:25Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Why did the hipster burn his mouth on pizza? > > He ate the pizza before it was cool. Did you really bump a 19 month old thread (a Diamonds02 thread, at that) just to repeat a joke you’d heard? Let me guess, you did a search for “Hipster” to find a place to drop this in? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-hipsters-pay-for-things-in-quarters/571450.md?page=3)