Verizon check

[snopes]

Comment: There was no text with this forwarded picture of a check payable to Verizon using a mathematical equation for the amount. Any idea if it is real or the story behind it?

[lynnejanet]

How come the black handwriting is so much clearer than the red and black type?

Any math whizzes among the snopesters?

ETA: posters on other websites calculate the result as 0.02 of a cent (or $0.0002, I guess), and therefore worth nothing. There doesn't seem to be anything to back up its veracity, though.

[Squishy0405]

I am SO fowarding this to the only math whiz I know. He's a college math professor so this should be easy but I will endure the lengthy & tiring explanation for you all. I'll take a hit for the team!

[Chance]

The cheque was made by Randall Munroe, who does the very funny (and geeky) webcomic xkcd, in response to this conflict with Verizon.

Geekiness to the rescue!

[lynnejanet]

Originally Posted by Chance

The cheque was made by Randall Munroe, who does the very funny (and geeky) webcomic xkcd, in response to this conflict with Verizon.

Geekiness to the rescue!

That call is hilarious! The pauses between responses by the Verizon staff are priceless.

[CSGirl]

Originally Posted by lynnejanet

That call is hilarious! The pauses between responses by the Verizon staff are priceless.

Wow. I'm listening to it now- there is no way I would have as much patience as he did. Wow. It reminds me of recent conversations with my loan company, and I could not have kept my cool for as long as he did, and with so many different people, repeating the same thing.

[ToadMagnet]

This image usually goes with the story (and recording) about the engineer who could not get across to the Verizon employees that $.002 is not the same as $.02

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Gp0HyxQv97Q

(I think that's the right link.) There was a thread about this last month.

Toad"Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right"Magnet

ETA: Gah! Spanked whilst looking for the link!

[Chance]

Originally Posted by ToadMagnet

This image usually goes with the story (and recording) about the engineer who could not get across to the Verizon employees that $.002 is not the same as $.02

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Gp0HyxQv97Q

(I think that's the right link.) There was a thread about this last month.

Toad"Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right"Magnet

ETA: Gah! Spanked whilst looking for the link!

Wow! I've never spanked anyone before! (Well, not on the Internet, anyway). It was interesting to read the Youtube comments on that.