Chicago Tribune, August 7, 1921. An interesting question is raised: What is the proper amount to tip a child after you’ve run him over with your car?
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2 Comments
It’s an interesting question. 25 cents in 1921 is roughly three dollars today. But six-year-olds are remarkably naive about money. For example, if our vampire motorist had given the lad a two-bit piece, he might have thought himself cheated. But five nickels would’ve been a great sum, and twenty-five pennies a fortune.
Now, I could look at that in today’s dollars, and think, “Why, my good man, three dollars is positively impecunious. This wounded lad deserves at least a Hamilton for his silence!” But what child would be satisfied with a single portrait of Alexander Hamilton, when he could have three portraits of George Washington, the father of our country?
The important thing, when bribing children, is to see the world through their eyes. So many of us, when faced with a child we have injured through inattention, view them as tiny adults, and more’s the pity.
Well this is exactly why I always carry a few Tootsie Pops in my jacket pocket. Pretty much a universal currency among the under-seven and under-the-tires set.