Z$100 couldn't buy a crumb

[Mosiah]

Z$100 couldn't buy a crumb

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Dear Editor,
I was taken aback by a report I heard on Nationwide radio on May 15 which said that Zimbabwe had issued a Z$500,000,000 note. That same report stated that this note could buy only two loaves of bread, at Z$250,000,000 per loaf.
Now assuming that each loaf contains a total of 21 slices of bread, then each slice would cost Z$11,900,000 (Z$250,000,000/21). Assuming further that this slice could be broken down into crumbs and that each slice could give as many as 119,000 minute crumbs, then it would cost Z$100 for each crumb (Z$11,900,000/119,000).
I tried to demolish a slice of bread following a crumb-making recipe appearing in The Cook's Thesaurus, available on the internet (http://www.foodsubs.com/Crumbs.html), into the tiniest of crumbs and could not get more that 1,190 pieces.
Assuming that my best effort wasn't even 1/10th of the most efficient crumb maker, it would still mean that the most crumbs that one could get from a slice of bread would be 11,900. That would work out at Z$1,000 per crumb.
Under any stretch of the imagination, Z$100 couldn't even buy a crumb.
Egerton Chang
86 Half-Way-Tree Road
Kingston 10

[Islandman]

Don't even get me started...

Well, some will say at least is Black Man Time. Supposedly getting screwed by your own kind is less painful than being screwed by someone who looks different.

[Peter R]

Egerton, you have time... but then again I'm a forumite.

pr

[Karl]

Z$100 couldn't buy a crumb

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Dear Editor,
I was taken aback by a report I heard on Nationwide radio on May 15 which said that Zimbabwe had issued a Z$500,000,000 note. That same report stated that this note could buy only two loaves of bread, at Z$250,000,000 per loaf.
Now assuming that each loaf contains a total of 21 slices of bread, then each slice would cost Z$11,900,000 (Z$250,000,000/21). Assuming further that this slice could be broken down into crumbs and that each slice could give as many as 119,000 minute crumbs, then it would cost Z$100 for each crumb (Z$11,900,000/119,000).
I tried to demolish a slice of bread following a crumb-making recipe appearing in The Cook's Thesaurus, available on the internet (http://www.foodsubs.com/Crumbs.html), into the tiniest of crumbs and could not get more that 1,190 pieces.
Assuming that my best effort wasn't even 1/10th of the most efficient crumb maker, it would still mean that the most crumbs that one could get from a slice of bread would be 11,900. That would work out at Z$1,000 per crumb.
Under any stretch of the imagination, Z$100 couldn't even buy a crumb.
Egerton Chang
86 Half-Way-Tree Road
Kingston 10