Though I don’t walk around staring at the ground, I often catch glimpses of change lying on the sidewalk in my peripheral vision. Even though god know what was on that asphalt/pavement, I always pick the coin up (usually a penny) and keep it.
But I was in a public restroom last Easter and saw a penny on the floor, and I just couldn’t find it in me to pick it up. This wasn’t a thoroughly-disgusting cesspool-like restroom, but it also wasn’t a closely monitored, well-manicured restroom you’d find in a hotel or nice restaurant. (If it helps, it was the restroom on the premises of an urban high school).
No. I don’t pick up pennies. I figure there are only so many bendovers in this well-used back of mine, and it’s not worth a penny to use one up. I’ll bend over for a nickel or more, though. It would have to be at least quarter for me to pick it up off a bathroom floor, though.
No, probably not. Which is funny, if you think about it, since it’s the only place where you could pick up lost change and actually wash it and your hands.
No. I’m a germaphobe and I have flashbacks of watching people spit. I don’t even like to touch the bottom of my shoes.
I knew this man that used to wait in the car while his wife shopped. He said he used to throw pennies on the ground and watch people pick them up. I thought that was the most bizarre thing that I’ve ever heard anyone do.
No way. I can’t remember ever picking up a penny regardless of where it was. If I drop a coin after paying for something I’ll grab it, but only if I can spot it immediately. If it goes rolling down the aisle, eh, someone gets a free nickel.
I figure, am I going to miss it more than someone else who needs it will feel enriched by it? That answer is usually no.
If it’s a bill, then sure, but I’ll make sure that it’s the first one I spend.
[spoiler]Two friends, a Scotsman and a Jew, are out drinking one night. Eventually Nature calls, and so they head for the head. The Scotsman takes the lone urinal, and the Jew says that he has to take a dump anyway so he enters the stall. The usual noises are heard for a minute, and then the Jew says “Damn!”
“What’s the matter?” inquires the Scotsman.
“Well, when I was pulling my pants up, I dropped a dime into the toilet.”
The Scotsman joins the Jew in the stall to look at the sad sight. They both shake their heads in despair. Then the Scotsman reaches into his pocket and drops a quarter into the toilet.
“What did you do that for?!?” cries the Jew.
And the Scotsman sez, “Och, I’m not gonna stick my hand in there for a dime!” [/spoiler]
I wouldn’t pick up a penny, no matter where I found it. I usually have too many of them around already. Nor a nickel. Maybe a dime, definitely a quarter, because I always need quarters for laundry, vending machines, and parking meters.
I figure most of the money I handle has probably been somewhere I don’t want to think about at some point, so why not?
oooh fuck no. I do sometimes eat things that have dropped on the ground, but public restrooms are completely off-limits to any ground-touching of coinage. Besides, a fucking penny? A 5 dollar coin, if one existed, would tempt me but I’d still say no if it was a ‘cesspool’ like in the OP.
