‘Money doesn’t count!’ - The Friar

Think that counting money is done the same way all over the world, well think again, counting money is done very differently depending on where you are. This video shows how counting money is done in Japan, Korea, China and Singapore, then in Afghanistan,Iran,India, Tajikistan and the Middle East, then in Russia, Mongolia, Poland and Eastern Europe, then in Turkmenistan, Kazakistan, Pakistan, and parts of Turkey, then in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and Egypt, then in Africa, then in America, Canada and England.

Interesting differences in the counting styles of the different countries, who would of known that there are hugh cultural differences in money counting!

‘A local currency for local people’ - The Friar

The town of Lewes in East Sussex is printing it’s own currency, known as the Lewes pound. The currency is being produced by the local council in a bid to keep cash circulating in the local economy rather than losing money to the national stores and hence protecting the local economy from globalization. More than 70 stores in Lewes have signed up to accept the Lewes pound in their transactions.

The town have printed £10,000 worth of the new currency, which was an idea put forward by the Transition Town Lewes, which are a local developmental organization. The currency was printed on Royal Mint quality paper, with security features like UV fibres and watermarks.

People may think that this is a new fad, but historically it wasquiet common in 19th century Britian for towns or areas to have their own currencies, in fact Lewes previously had it’s own currency until 1895.

The Lewes pound has replaced the image of the Queen with that of Thomas Paine on it’s notes. Paine lived in Lewes and moved to the United States where he famously wrote the influential Rights of Man. The new currency can be bought for pounds sterling at outlets around Lewes, and can be exchanged back to pounds sterling at any time.

‘This money is not worth the paper it’s printed on!’ ~ The Friar

Zimbabwe’s Central Bank, which is rapidly running our of paper, introduced the $50 billion dollar note. The new note is equivalent to about $1.25 US dollars.

What will $50 billion buy you? Well, two loaves of bread and no change. There is also a $10 billion and $20 billion note in circulation and the currency is dropping in value by 100% a day. Zimbabwe is in a real economic crisis with 80% unemployment and an inflation rate of 231 million %. We in the West have really nothing to complain about compared to Zimbabwe.

‘The Queens got a lovely smile!’ - The Friar

I was going to say with the Queen’s Smile, but I don’t think anyone has managed to see that, maybe Prince Phillip managed to coax a smile out of Her.

Anyways, to know ‘What Would I Look Like With The Queen’s Mouth’ you will need two people (you and someone else), a £5 note, and a digital camera.

1.Fold a £5 horizontally in half, dissecting the Queen in two.
2.Give your friend (that you trust!!) the £5 note and camera
3.Pose for the photo.
4.Get your friend to place the £5 note in front of the camera, matching the Queen’s head with yours and take the photo.
5.Tada! You with the Queen’s mouth.

Here’s a few that were done earlier!