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Star Trek Fans Told To Stop "Spocking" Canadian $5 Bill
bellwould writes The Toronto Sun is reporting that Bank of Canada executives are urging Star Trek fans to stop altering Wilfred Laurier's face on the Canadian $5 bill to look like Spock. Although not illegal to draw on the bills, a Bank of Canada spokesperson points out that the markings may reduce effectiveness of the security features or worse, the money may not be accepted.
It just made me smile.
The Bank of Canada wishes to inform Star Trek fans that while they may live long, they may not prosper if other parties refuse to accept defaced $5 bills that have been drawn on (aka "Spocked") in tribute to the late actor Leonard Nimoy.
I thought the original portrait on the Canadian $5 bill looks more like a young Palpatine.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
His family has requested that donations be made in his memory to one of the following charities
Everychild Foundation http://everychildfoundation.or...
P.O. Box 1808
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Foundation http://www.copdfoundation.org/
20 F Street NW, Suite 200-A
Washington, D.C. 20001
Beit T’Shuvah Treatment Center http://www.beittshuvah.org/tre...
8831 Venice Blvd.
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Bay-Nimoy Early Childhood Center at Temple Israel of Hollywood http://www.tiohnurseryschool.o...
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Los Angeles, CA 90046
Source: http://www.startrek.com/articl...
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Why not issue commemorative $5 notes? Commemorative coins are issued in the US, although actors aren't usually on them. There is, AFAIK, no commemorative US or Canadian note like that. Stamps are more liberal in that regard. I'm sure a lot of conservatives would hate it, say it's "undignified", blah, blah... It's Canada so they might even have to get permission from the Queen; but if they don't, then why not innovate? Come on Canada. You're so cool in many other ways. Make it happen.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
I read this story on the BBC site yesterday, and the title of the story was 'Spocking' not illegal, Canada Says at the time. It even still appears on Google search with that title. But now the headline has been changed to Bank spokesman says writing on bills "inappropriate".
Some shiny-shoed people getting a bit upset and influencing the media?
until then it's fair game.
Not only are people idiots, but that's the OLD $5 bill. So who cares, they are being removed from circulation anyway.
I have an old $5 in my wallet, will be fun to do. The enjoyment I get out of doing this is easily worth $5. ... putting maple syrup on my bacon.
The bank listed "important reasons". I call BS on each one.
- Reduced lifespan, so what? It is being replaced anyway.
- It might be rejected in a transaction. Lame, someone else will take it. Its only $5
- Source of national pride. Really? My guess is half of Canadians have never heard of him or know he was the PM.
Checked my wallet, there is an old $5, jackpot! I am feeling more Canadian pride in doing this on a Canadian bill then
This should read "Canadia's ATMs don't recognize drawn on bills, tellers have to remember how to count. National Tragedy. More at 11."
"Doctor, perhaps you are right. What is Mr. Scott's condition?"
"Well, I don't (is Vulcan neck pinched) think..."
(Eases him down.)
"Remember, eh."
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Other articles spin it the other way.
'Spocking' Laurier on $5 not illegal, says Bank of Canada
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/sp...
Dang! I went to "Spock" a fiver but it was one of the new plastic bills and the picture is different.
What are you going to do about it? Demand a return to a gold standard so that we can't be ripped off through inflation and boom-bust cycles caused by money expansion/contraction through the fractional reserve system? Cry about it?
The Bank of the Canadian Empire wishes to inform Star Trek fans that should they draw on Empire currency, they will be made to live as long as is possible, compatible with 24/7 application of the Agonizer. After their demise, the Empire will take their estate, and the Empire will prosper. Enterprise crew members who wish to dispute this policy may take it up with the business end of the Tantalus field.
South Park was so right.
Never let a lack of data get in the way of a good rant.
Mike Meyers popularized it on David Letterman IIRC years ago.. the old paper $5 bills had Laurier's face at a better angle, so he looked much more like Nimoy when the hair was penned in. Lots of us Canadians actually suspect they purposely changed his pose to try to avoid this in the newer bills...
it is only illegal to deface money with the intent to defraud. It's been many years, but that was the claim from some people that made jewelry out of coins. they had the appropriate regulation listed but, like I said, it was many years ago. Also, I think you may be able to decline payment if the money has been defaced to the point that you cannot discern its legitimacy.
This complaint is illogical. I estimate a 99.9732156% chance that it will be ignored.
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
Can't you just do it in pencil? That way the next guy can erase if he wants. Gee whiz, do I have to point out everything?
Now that they pointed out the fun prank to all, I want to Spockify some also.
And, I just found some cool Dr-Who-ifications on Google.
Let the nerdification begin...
Table-ized A.I.
No, they're going to whimper about "minimum wage" while they are being raped through inflation. Middle class? WHAT MIDDLE CLASS?
Bushificationism of verbicates will continue to continuify. If you are bothertized by it, then please seekify some therapification.
- Thankitize You, The Managementors
Table-ized A.I.
Cue Streisand effect.
While it's true that verbing weirds words, it's a been a common thing in English for a long time.
They are Canadian, the Bank of Canada is (politely) asking people to stop "Spocking" their Canadian five dollar bank notes ("bills").
You're funny, inflation happens under gold standard too. So does fractional reserve banking.
oh, and boom-bust also happens under gold standard. Proven by thousands of years of history in the west and east. Proven by pre-fed USA too.
First off, Canada != US, fellow American.
Second: people and businesses can limit the forms of payment they'll accept for practical reasons all the time. As in: no bills over a certain amount, or refusing payment in pennies. Coins CAN be legal tender, but no merchant or private party MUST accept a particular form of currency. Don't want to accept $1 bills, only $5 and $10? That's fine:
http://www.snopes.com/business...
"Legal tender is the default method of payment assumed in contractual agreements involving debts and payments for goods or services unless otherwise specified."
Third: the currency is defaced. That is the whole point - it's potentially not legal currency if you've drawn all over it. If you interfere with security features in the bill and it becomes more risky to trust as valid (such as, counterfeit bills that meet other security features elsewhere on the bill)...then they are right to refuse it.
I'm kind of shocked Canada doesn't specifically outlaw defacement of the currency; the US sure does.
Please help metamoderate.
As an alternative, Canadians are free to decorate them in such a way that the face looks like Barbara Streisand.
Ask me about repetitive DNA
Simply deny knowledge of how the bill got spocked. Maybe it was spocked before you got it as change or whatever?
you can also carry around back up money just in case.
Spock on it probably isn't going to get the money rejected!
obamasweapon.com
..fascinating.
How do these banknotes fit into the rules of Rock Paper Scissors Spock Lizard?
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
You're COMPLETELY missing his/her point. In the case of USD, the money supply is increased by tens of percentage points per decade. The increase of gold is negligible. Gold can be inflationary or deflationary. Compared to the currencies printed by today's central banks, gold is neither.
> The increase of gold is negligible.
Except when it's not... if a sudden surge of gold increase does happen - then there are no systems in place to counter inflation through things like interest hikes, instant hyper-inflation.
Exactly what destroyed the Spanish empire. Too much gold and silver from the Americas - instant riches, collapse of the gold based currency.
Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
"You're funny, inflation happens under gold standard too."
Not according to Piketty (Capital in the twenty first Century). Who indicates little change in prices prior to move by countries away from gold standard. Inflation was not seen until the twentieth century.
Were they only looking at endpoint? for the USA, item for $2 in 1800 cost $1.00 in 1850 (deflation) but then $1.32 in 1875 (inflation) but back to $1 in 1895
Here in the land of the free, you could be sentenced to up to 6 months in jail and an unlimited fine for making a "Five Dollar Bill Murray"... http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/us...
when the time comes. E. pluribus. UNUM.
I cannot speak for Canada, but the USA bill says it is legal tender for all debts, public and private. I know there are some quirks about this, but push comes to shove, there is some expectation that private debts can be paid in the currency. No one is likely to go to court over $5, but large sums may end up in front of a poor judge who is thinking "Why is this case here? Why am I here? Some days this job is just so boring and meaningless.", will explain that there is expectation that the payment can be made in currency. Maybe it has to be "laundered" through a bank, but banks have standard rules and practice for handling "defaced" currency, returning it to central bank for recycling, etc. The typical lifespan of a US$1 bill is crazy short, like 16 months. I've never heard that form of payment being refused erases the debt. Where do people get this stuff?
The real issue with the Canada $5 bill is that a well-done artwork using it might be worth more quite a bit more than CDN$5. That is no different than an old bill becoming a collector's item. An old US $5 silver certificate in great shape will sell to a collector for maybe US $30, but as legal tender it is still worth just $5.
If laws are the same in Canada as USA, defacing currency with intent to defraud is illegal, not just the defacing of the currency.
None of our American presidents even slightly resemble Spock...
Exceeding the recommended torque is not recommended.
Does anyone out there really think Leonard Nimoy would be honored by this?
An engineer who ran for Congress. http://herbrobinson.us
and since it is fiat currency anyways, it is completely worthless, right? so you don't want that $5 bill as it is only supporting fascist government oppression. this is why instead you give away your fiat currency to your religious order - as they also support undermining the currency in any way possible - and then print your own duplicates to spend.