31 ms·

Steve Wozniak used to tip from printed sheets of $2 bills

401 points by tjhill 4y ago

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
erikerikson 4y ago
[2011]
haunter 4y ago
You can still buy uncut sheets https://catalog.usmint.gov/paper-currency/uncut-currency/ https://catalog.usmint.gov/paper-currency/uncut-currency/
- nly 4y ago
  That markup though!
  - haunter 4y ago
    Sounds like printing money is actually a good business!
    - xpe 4y ago
      ...when you have a track record of relative currency stability.
- bhaney 4y ago
  Looks like every single thing is out of stock, so maybe not.
  - nohuck13 4y ago
    Wow, checked that link an hour ago and almost everything was in stock then.
    - xpe 4y ago
      Yay, go lemmings! The true spirit of Woz is not to copy existing social hacks. > Brian: Look, you've got it all wrong! You don't need to follow me. You don't need to follow anybody! You've got to think for yourselves! You're all individuals! > Crowd: Yes! We're all individuals! > Brian: You're all different! > Crowd: Yes, we are all different! > Man in crowd: I'm not... > Crowd: Shhh! Source: Monty Python
- implements 4y ago
  I mean, it’s a neat idea, but … what do you do with them? Framing one as a picture would seem to invite a burglary, and as a source of individual notes it’s much cheaper to go to a bank. Edit: Not intended as a critical question, btw - I was just wondering how you’d use them.
  - nestorD 4y ago
    You don't use them as money but they have consecutive serial numbers which has uses...
    - rajamaka 4y ago
      What uses?
      - implements 4y ago
        Yeah, I’m intrigued now!
      - rightbyte 4y ago
        Dunno. Easier to remember the range than more spread out numbers?
  - haunter 4y ago
    >what do you do with them? Use them to tip like Steve Wozniak? :D
  - themitigating 4y ago
    A personality can be constructed out of eclectic objects
  - neilv 4y ago
    The hundreds could be Sweet 16 birthday gift wrap for the keys to a Lamborghini.
    - basementcat 4y ago
- Symbiote 4y ago
  Does this mean you occasionally find poorly cut bills in normal circulation? If I received one, I'd also be suspicious.
  - sneak 4y ago
    Sometimes. I used to buy the sheets and rip out bills with half a bill on the surrounding 4 edges. They make fun party gifts. https://s3.sneak.cloud/sneak-public/2003/2003-02-19.jpg https://s3.sneak.cloud/sneak-public/2003/2003-02-19.jpg
    - lesquivemeau 4y ago
      I really like this image: It's eight days older than me, but the quality is as good as it gets. Most of the photos I have from my early years are quite low-res because they were taken with early digital cameras. Hope these people are doing well!
      - lupire 4y ago
        How do you know the age?
        sneak 4y ago
        There's a date in the filename. That said, I think it may be misdated, as I think the image is from closer to 2007/8, as I think I shot it on a 40D which only came out in Aug 2007. I've gone through 3 or 4 generations of photo library management software since then and the metadata may have gotten mangled.
        warner25 4y ago
        You can tell the age from the $1 bill itself. It looks like it was printed in 2006 and has the signature of Hank Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury from 2006-2009. You can compare it to his signature: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Paulson#/media/File:Henry_M_Paulson_Jr_sig.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Paulson#/media/File:Henr...
- davidgrenier 4y ago
  Why is everyone here assuming uncut sheets aren't legal tender? A look at their faq reveals: ``Because the individual notes on uncut currency sheets are legal tender, they may be cut apart and spent.''
  - haunter 4y ago
    I think it's the cutting up that makes it wonky. Not being legal or not but instantly suspicious if you see one with scissor cut edges or imagine making it perforated
- brightball 4y ago
  I’m going to have to try this. Clemson fans travel to away games with stacks of $2 bills stamped with Tiger Paws. Been a tradition since the 70s when Georgia Tech wanted to cancel our annual series, so our fans showed up in Atlanta spending the $2 bills everywhere to make sure everyone knew the economic impact when we came to visit. It was a big deal to our fans because we weren’t going to bowl games every year back then, so our game in Atlanta was the big trip for the season. Been a tradition ever since and our reputation as fans who “travel well” helped ensure bowl game preferences for years. https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/college/clemson/2017/09/28/clemson-vs-virginia-tech-40-anniversary-clemson-2-dollar-bill-tradition/711655001/ https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/college/clemso...
yreg 4y ago
> [The Secret Service agent] asked my for some picture ID. I have some fake photo ID's that a friend made for me years before, when we could make realistic photo ID's from our computers. Almost nobody else could do this because printers weren't good enough. But I had an expensive early generation dye sublimation printer and made some fake ID's for fun. I had one favorite fake ID that I'd used for almost every airplane flight, domestic and international, that I'd taken for many years. It says "Laser Safety Officer" and has a photo of me with an eyepatch. It also says "Department of Defiance" in an arc, in a font that looks like "Department of Defense" to the casual glance. > As I opened my wallet, I considered whether I should risk using this fake ID on the Secret Service. It probably amounted to a real crime. I had my driver's license as well. But you only live once and only a few of us even get a chance like this once in our lives. So I handed him the fake ID. He noted and returned it. The Secret Service took an ID that said "Laser Safety Officer" with a photo of myself wearing an eyepatch. Woz plays life like an RPG.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- dist1ll 4y ago
  Isn't it pretty irresponsible to commit a felony while you have a daughter and wife to take care of? I find his nonchalant delivery quite jarring. I don't understand what's going through his head here.
  - Asooka 4y ago
    No less irresponsible than charging a man with a felony over an obvious joke.
    - ramraj07 4y ago
      How is using fake IDs to board airplanes a joke? Only because we are mostly sure this particular man is an innocent manchild, but how exactly does that generalize?
csallen 4y ago
> I'd already transferred the maximum yearly tax free gift of $10,000 to each of my kids. If I'm not mistaken, one tip I've heard is that one can transfer more than that in gifts yearly, and although that requires filing a gift tax return with the IRS, it doesn't mean necessarily mean paying any tax. There's a lifetime maximum that has to be hit, and it's extremely high. (I'm not a lawyer nor an accountant, and this is not legal or tax advice, yada yada)
- someweirdperson 4y ago
  > and it's extremely high "Extremely high" is relative (some 11 million, probably less at that time?), considering the person telling this story.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  The nuance is that if you gift below the yearly reporting amount, it does not count towards the lifetime maximum, since it never has to be reported. So if Woz had given $10,001, then he would have had to file it, and then when he died, it would have added $10,001 towards his total lifetime gift tax exclusion from his estate (currently $13M). But if he gave $10k (or whatever yearly reporting maximum) per year until he dies, then all of that does not get counted towards the $13M lifetime gift tax exclusion, so in a way, it is an additional tax reduction when the estate gets passed down.
  - lupire 4y ago
    That's (hard to detect) tax fraud.
    - lotsofpulp 4y ago
      No, it is perfectly legal. It is called the annual “exclusion” amount, because you get to exclude it from estate tax calculations. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/frequently-asked-questions-on-gift-taxes https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employe... > What can be excluded from gifts? > The general rule is that any gift is a taxable gift. However, there are many exceptions to this rule. Generally, the following gifts are not taxable gifts. >Gifts that are not more than the annual exclusion for the calendar year. >Tuition or medical expenses you pay for someone (the educational and medical exclusions). >Gifts to your spouse. >Gifts to a political organization for its use. >In addition to this, gifts to qualifying charities are deductible from the value of the gift(s) made. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/whats-new-estate-and-gift-tax https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employe...
papito 4y ago
I asked at a bank recently for 100 $2 bills (I needed it for tipping on a cruise ship). The tellers were extremely curious about what it was for. I got 100 still-bundled bills, like in crime movies!
- incone123 4y ago
  If this isn't something tellers see quite regularly, then what do other cruise passengers do? I asked for a lot of £5 (smallest denomination note in UK) at the bank once because I was going to a music festival (before mobile card payment was routine). They asked me casually why I wanted them and I explained. Seems to be a Know Your Customer thing.
  - rswskg 4y ago
    For a period I was withdrawing 5k cash weekly. I was required to wait for 20 minutes each time and give a reason why. I settled on 'money fight' as it seemed to upset them the most.
  - PaulRobinson 4y ago
    If they can't just give you the money they have on hand (perhaps deposited by other customers), you are increasing the cost of the transaction for them. Cash is expensive. People complain about card transactions, but wait until you need to deal with cash deposits and withdrawals regularly - that adds up quick, and is the main reason why a lot of businesses in the UK have moved to card only since the pandemic. It's also the case that criminals prefer cash, and a large number of small denomination notes could be used to facilitate a large number of small value crimes more easily. Drug dealing is the obvious one, but there are others. I witnessed a shoplifters being stopped by a security guard once, with £200 worth of goods in their coat (booze, steaks), and they offered a £5 note - "it's all I have" - and by making that offer of payment, they reduced the crime and the penalty somewhat to the point the manager and security officer removed the goods, asked them to leave and told them they weren't welcome any more - no police involved. For all that bank knew, you were running a gang of shoplifters doing this.
    - 4y ago
helsontaveras18 4y ago
I do not understand how the story ended. And that was a very odd story… he is an edgy guy.
- 082349872349872 4y ago
  It ended on (a) a yet more unbelievable note than everything up until that point, and (b) noting that lots of money changed hands that day, but that all the financial details are ancillary to the story, which is what was important. I don't know if I'd say "edgy", so much as a hacker — and there have been hackers in all generations, eg https://books.google.ch/books?id=V3ByEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA575&lpg=PA575&dq=maxwell+for+fun+zoetrope+little+man+körner&source=bl&ots=ZoqxUPdA0J&sig=ACfU3U212p3ONPlUgkDIODkLmAx5w3fbKw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQ5qnD0uz8AhV0hP0HHZgJB0MQ6AF6BAgDEAM#v=onepage&q=maxwell%20for%20fun%20zoetrope%20little%20man%20körner&f=false https://books.google.ch/books?id=V3ByEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA575&lpg=P...
  - ShamelessC 4y ago
    This definition of "hacker" is effectively synonymous with "edgy and deviant". You can maybe add "intelligent", but eh, that's giving too much credit.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
  - lupire 4y ago
    He's showing off (or lying) that he's so rich they he can throw away $7500 as a joke because he's already committed to giving his daughter $10M+.
    - xboxnolifes 4y ago
      He didn't throw away $7500. He gave his daughter $7500, which left him out $7500 due to tax reasons.
dsq 4y ago
Was Wozniak already “the Woz” of Apple fame when this story took place? In which case I assume he could afford the best lawyers on the planet if necessary, plus the President calling to get him out of trouble. An ordinary civilian might fall down that hole never to come out again. Just showing a fake ID to a fed could be met with serious retribution.
- alpaca128 4y ago
  I'm pretty sure Wozniak didn't yet have a 12 year old daughter before Apple.
- tbarone 4y ago
  That was the most surprising thing to me by far. Dangerous game to play, imagine trying to convince a judge that "I was not intentionally looking for trouble".
  - ChuckNorris89 4y ago
    Yeah, no government likes it when you mess with their currency.
    - xpe 4y ago
      Right. It also would seem likely that at least one protector of said currency (the agent in the story) didn't know his domain (currency sheets are legit). Unless he just wanted to harrass Woz, or maybe because they suspected him of other mischief and wanted to see if he misstepped.
      - tgsovlerkhgsel 4y ago
        You can buy currency sheets. You cannot buy perforated currency booklets. It's reasonable to be suspicious about the latter, especially as I suspect Woz didn't start the interview with "I bought the currency sheets then had them turned into this" - and anyways, by that time the agent had a checklist to run through, likely including the passport numbers etc. as mentioned in the article. Even knowing that the bills are being sold in sheets, you wouldn't want to be the agent who let someone go who was doing everything exactly as Woz did except for getting the currency sheets from the guy printing the North Korean superbills...
brailsafe 4y ago
As a Canadian, somehow I didn't know the U.S still used $2 bills
- Aardwolf 4y ago
  Despite being similar value, for euros, the bills only start at 5 euro, while 1 and 2 euro are coins.
  - ilammy 4y ago
    There is also a story that US cannot change the design of their $1 bill because of Big Vending.
    - hnfong 4y ago
      Inflation might get things moving! :)
  - brailsafe 4y ago
    Same in Canada
- ElfinTrousers 4y ago
  I've lived my entire life here and was well into my 40s the first time I ever saw one. When I did get hold of one, I did what many people do with it, which is to tuck it away in a side pocket of my wallet as a curiosity, rather than spend it.
- TAKEMYMONEY 4y ago
  I've had Americans refuse to accept my $2 bills because they thought they were a joke instead of real currency
- xboxnolifes 4y ago
  You will almost never come across them unless someone goes out of their way to obtain them like Woz. Outside of one rare occurrence where I received change in golden dollars and $2 bills, the only time I've seen $2 bills was when my father would buy them to tip with.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
jesprenj 4y ago
Can one buy uncut sheets of euro banknotes?
- Tade0 4y ago
  Haven't heard of any, but when it was first introduced, the Euro was fairly easy to copy. There was a man in Italy nicknamed il Professore who was notorious for producing them in bulk while not being particularly conspicuous about it. According to an anecdote from one of his family members when a cashier tried to confirm whether the 20€ banknote he gave her was legitimate he said "lady, it costs me 18€ to make one of these, so I don't even bother".
  - PartiallyTyped 4y ago
    Could that be the inspiration of "the professor" in Netflix's "Money heist"?
curiousgal 4y ago
> But I had got a big point on him and I was quite satisfied in that. I hate this attitude so much.
- filchermcurr 4y ago
  Agreed. I found this whole story made him sound very unlikable. Like he considers everybody to be below him to the point of being playthings. Kind of gross.
  - concordDance 4y ago
    Everyone should play with everyone else and have a good time.
    - thombat 4y ago
      And if the person you're playing with isn't having a good time as a result? If you're the guy at the head of the queue dicking around, while behind you are the people waiting to get on with their lives?
- squillion 4y ago
  Yeah, what a self-absorbed, giant jerk. He missed his daughter's competition but of course he'd do it again anytime for the lulz. BTW the basic facts might be true but the details reek of bullshit.
mgaunard 4y ago
[flagged]
- enriquto 4y ago
  Considering the author and the subject of this text, you shouldn't discard that a kind of xkcd 326 situation is at play here.
  - someweirdperson 4y ago
    A peak is followed by a decline. Why try to intenionally peak it, when there's a chance that it might get even better?
    - mgaunard 4y ago
      the correct word is "pique", obviously. "peak" doesn't make any sense in this context.
rvieira 4y ago
It's funny and a bit sad that society is so complex we (I) don't even know something as "simple" as what the forms of acceptable currency are.
O__________O 4y ago
Related US Mint page for $2 bill sheets: https://catalog.usmint.gov/paper-currency/uncut-currency/?&prefv1=2dollar#prefn1=coinDenomination&prefv1=2dollar https://catalog.usmint.gov/paper-currency/uncut-currency/?&p... Basically he tells story in a way that average person assume he’s printing fake bills, when in reality he’s just cutting and binding sets of uncut bills into a notepad. Lying to a federal investigator though is a federal crime and one that’s frequently resulted in prison sentences. Worth noting that Jobs & Woz first product was actually a device to make illegal free calls: http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/10/steve-jobs-first-business-was-selling-blue-boxes-that-allowed-users-to-get-free-phone-service-illegally/ http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/10/steve-jobs-f...
- xpe 4y ago
  Woz didn't lie according to his account. Technically, he gave a fake ID, but not a fake drivers license. I say this b/c DL's don't show occupation. My understanding is that it had his correct name. So I don't see a lie that most prosecutors would care about given the whole situation. Not to mention that it is not a good look for a secret service agent to not know the details of the actual currency he is tasked to protect (e.g. available in perforated sheets). I suppose it is possible the agent got called in not knowing the specific details warranting arrest*, but that would be even worse. * Am I right to think that Woz was arrested given that he was read his Miranda rights?
  - O__________O 4y ago
    > makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry; https://codes.findlaw.com/us/title-18-crimes-and-criminal-procedure/18-usc-sect-1001.html https://codes.findlaw.com/us/title-18-crimes-and-criminal-pr...
    - doctor_eval 4y ago
      But was it materially false? im not sure his fake occupation was at all relevant, and since the document identified Woz, I suspect it was materially true.
cardanome 4y ago
I don't get the humor. Oh, look, that was so funny putting myself into a situation that most people would be scared shitless to be in and might not have ended well for them! Let's just waste everyone's time so they can humor me on a joke! I am such an edgy rich white guy! A real hacker! What an absolute tool.
- corobo 4y ago
  > that was so funny putting myself into a situation that most people would be scared shitless to be in and might not have ended well for them! Same attitude paid off in his little Apple computer hobby.
- lupire 4y ago
  You seem to have it backwards. They wasted his time.
dianfishekqi 4y ago
[Woz's $2 bill sheets] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ1TIYxm1vM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ1TIYxm1vM
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
JoeAltmaier 4y ago
Lots of timid, humorless folks having trouble imagining not being a sheep and always coloring inside the lines. I for one wish there were more real people around, living life for liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Like we were intended to live.
- filchermcurr 4y ago
  And I, for one, am glad that society as a whole doesn't behave this way. Imagine how obnoxious it would be if every other social interaction was somebody messing with you. Wonderful.
  - scotty79 4y ago
    Instead we have someone in every other social interaction trying to sell or upsell something.
  - bdhess 4y ago
    Imagine how obnoxious it would be if you were detained by a federal agent for totally legal behavior.
  - ztrww 4y ago
    Is every other person you interact with is a federal agent or a TSA employee?
  - xpe 4y ago
    Very little is what it seems. Jordan Peterson makes a convincing argument that dominance hierarchies (having biologically existed longer than sex differentiation) drive significant portions of many interactions even today. So if you think of social interactions in this way, many people may (sort of) "mess with you" in the sense that they are testing your position in some hierarchy. All of this said, I haven't seen a critical analysis of Peterson's theory, which from what I can tell, does not connect the dots, so to speak, from biological behavior to individual intentions. Still, I think it is fair to say that individual intentions are not required for Peterson's explanation. The human brain does much that is neither conscious nor intentional in the usual senses of the words. This theory is really interesting to explore and extrapolate. I'll give an example. Let's say someone treats you with a normal level of politeness. You could argue that they are not messing with you, and not challenging your position in any dominance hierarchy. But perhaps this shows they feel confident enough to address you as a peer. Or perhaps they feel like they are in a higher position, and have no need to flaunt it. In any case, your subsequent response will provide a lot of data for the other person. I think of the number of times that people humble brag. Or the subtle things people do to demonstrate knowledge. The more I think about it, the more I think Peterson's theory is useful in an explanatory sense. To be clear, I'm not saying I agree with any moral philosophy that suggests such behavior is ideal from an ethical perspective.
chrismarlow9 4y ago
Wow there are some angry people in these comments.
- implements 4y ago
  Well, I guess Woz was being a “prankster” - and from Wikipedia: “A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort”. I can see the playful side of it, but people and places where pranks are not generally well received would be federal agents and casinos - so from the ‘victims’ point of view I expect they could have done without the bother.
  - lupire 4y ago
    Why does a casino, a legalized scam operation, deserve respect? When you are a retired billionaire, you have freedom to explore. See also Penn Jillete's airport "security" protest, though he wasn't retired or a billionaire , but was willing to spend his time/money/privilege fighting for our rights.
thrdbndndn 4y ago
..and web.archive.org is down. Probably not hugged to death, since their server is unstable for quite awhile.
mv4 4y ago
Re: "I had one favorite fake ID that I'd used for almost every airplane flight, domestic and international, that I'd taken for many years." How times have changed.
risfriend 4y ago
This seems like a plausible thing to do if you run out of change to tip, banks may not easily give out bundles of $2 in cash simply because of shortage and found this another way to grab lot of $2 notes.
pigtailgirl 4y ago
-- He was on Steve-O's podcast - few months ago - the whole episode is hilarious - - the $2 bill stuff - its at 1:25:25 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRi8r0XQFHU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRi8r0XQFHU - Steve-O (guy from jackass) podcast is great - btw --
markus_zhang 4y ago
This guy is a legend. A living example my engineer self can look up to.
atorodius 4y ago
What a trip of a story.
jabart 4y ago
As a kid I was in the store with my parents and we were in line for the register. Some guy turned around and looked at me and said "Hey kid, ever seen a $2 bill before?" I said no, and he ripped off a $2 from a pad and handed it to me. To this day I have this $2 bill because I thought it was fake. This is the midwest, no way was this Woz but now I feel that this might not be a fake $2 bill anymore.
jsz0 4y ago
One of the greatest flaws of modern society is how we systematically beat this natural childlike enthusiasm for bending the rules out of people. I'm just old enough to remember when 'it was just a joke' was a legitimate excuse that could get you out of trouble. If the joke was funny and didn't hurt anyone you might get a slap not he wrist but people of all ages appreciated your effort to make the world a less grim place.
- xavdid 4y ago
  The problem you run into is that people can do legitimately harmful things, and claim it was "just a joke". It ruins it for everyone, unfortunately.
  - oehpr 4y ago
    Funny how, in my life experience, "It was just a joke" has been the exclusive use of people who were definitely not joking, absolutely intended to do harmful things, and simply liked hurting people. They simply thought that so long as they found it amusing, the harm others experienced physically, emotionally, or materially, were not really of consequence. After all, surely if they were in their targets shoes, they would have thicker skin. And that definitely isn't a lie they're telling themselves and others.
Invictus0 4y ago
This comment section is really disappointing. Should change the name of the site to Anal-Retentive Snobs News.
- Slighted 4y ago
  Its unfortunate how many people can't take a joke. Wozniak certainly wasn't wasting anyone's time as the bills were legal. Wozniak didn't have to deal with the SS agent either and could've easily invoked his 5th amendment right to silence, but he was cooperative instead. Based on the story, it doesn't look as though he claimed his fake ID was a legitimate one either and just handed it over as part of a generic question. No, don't try to tell me how the secret service agent and the casino employees were victims and how this somehow ties into white privilege or some crap like that. Try spending some time off the internet and return to real life.
kidme5 4y ago
The end of this story (paying taxes on $7500 winnings) seems to be hinting at something. Is the message that of course nobody follows all the rules? (Pays those gift taxes)
astrostl 4y ago
I 'bought' a bunch of (cut) $2 bills from a bank ages ago to use for tips, and people do love it.
dorfsmay 4y ago
I can't help but wonder if the lack of https on woz.org is intentional or simply overlooked.
mxtihvb 4y ago
From Walter Isaacson's biography: Woz and Jobs got their first big break from selling physical copies of the 'Blue Box', a device which allowed you to place long-distance phone calls through intelligently breaking AT&T's phone routing network. In today's 'wire fraud' day and age, this 100% would have been illegal -- so note that these two people made today's most valuable company! Relatively speaking, printing a photo ID or $2 bills is nothing. It is the hacker spirit (notice we are on a site called hacker news!).
gelstudios 4y ago
The patron saint of hackers is making the rounds again. Whether you are a fan or not, his book "iWoz" is full of these stories like trolling casino pit bosses with the pad of bills. A few years ago I had the privilege of meeting the woz after an event at which he was a speaker. I was surprised at how humble and patient he was with people vying for his attention, many asking for him to autograph laptops and whatever else they had at hand. I got his attention when I asked him about tetris and we geeked out a bit over it. Thats a story for another day but I did walk away from that conversation with a prized souvenir -- an autographed $2 bill: https://imgur.com/gallery/TQo0KOi https://imgur.com/gallery/TQo0KOi ... and a laser cut steel business card :)
spiritplumber 4y ago
Due to this story, if I am teaching basic electronics or how to use a 3d printer to kids, I "pay them for the day's work" with a new $2 bill (which you can get at any bank if you ask and wait a few days). I like them because instead of having some guy on the back they have a pretty painting of the Constitution. I sometimes to have to explain to the parents that yes it's real money.
Animats 4y ago
Oh, the notebook full of tear-off dollar bills. That used to be a thing. I once read that it was originated by the publicity director of Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey. Although setting them up for 4-up and perforated is over complicating things.
indigodaddy 4y ago
For anyone having trouble with the archive.org link as I was..: https://archive.ph/n8vwp https://archive.ph/n8vwp
bentobean 4y ago
> I carry large sheets, folded in my pocket, and sometimes pull out scissors and cut a few off to pay for something in a store. It's just for comedy, as the $2 bills cost nearly $3 each when purchased on sheets. > When he said that they don't make bills like this I asked "They don't?" as though I thought it was quite normal to have sheets. My answer was also so emotionless as to confuse him about me, and to make me seem even more evasive. This, again, I do for a comedic effect. Is it just me, or does the man simply not understand what comedy is? I enjoy a good joke as much as the next guy. That said, if you are routinely paying for items at the register by cutting bills off of a sheet with scissors and handing the police a fake ID when asked for identification, you’re basically asking for trouble. And you’re almost certainly going to waste a lot of people’s valuable time. Generally speaking, I do really like Woz as a person. But in this particular instance, he does kind of come across as a big pain in the ass.
kwikiel 4y ago
Seems like you can still buy sheets like that: https://catalog.usmint.gov/2-four-note-sheet-B9491.html?cgid=uncut-currency#start=1 https://catalog.usmint.gov/2-four-note-sheet-B9491.html?cgid...
kristianp 4y ago
So he bought sheets of uncut bills from the mint and got them perforated? Are they legal tender when bought in sheets?
x-complexity 4y ago
Some of the comments in here scare me to bits: If HN's userbase is that scared of poking at the edges/inconsistencies of authority, even in jest, then how would anyone gain the expertise of challenging said authority when top-down control is pushed too far?
- larvaetron 4y ago
  > HN's userbase is that scared of poking at the edges/inconsistencies of authority, even in jest It wasn't always like this, even just 5 years ago. I don't know where all the weirdos came from but they've fundamentally changed this site, and not in a good way.
l0b0 4y ago
The original title[1] is 'Woz and the Secret Service: "The infamous $2 bill incident"' [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20120127020131/http://archive.woz.org/letters/general/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120127020131/http://archive.wo...
madmax108 4y ago
Incase anyone wanted to see what the sheet of $2 bills looks like: https://twitter.com/mrexits/status/1619179141533954050 https://twitter.com/mrexits/status/1619179141533954050
decker 4y ago
This would have been perfect if it ended a paragraph earlier.
bluenomatterwho 4y ago
Sheesh the comments on the ID! All morality and legality aside, we have to take a little bit of context into account. The Great Woz is behaving in the much heralded spirit of the age, encapsulated in things like Make. He may as well actually be the Lazer and Chief (retired) of the Defiance Department. A sense of humor might help with the nuance. Imagine the back-office or radio chatter tho. "Casino security says the bills are real. They have better machines than we do. Right. Some technician at Apple. Makes sense. Alright Tom I'll call you back."

401 points by tjhill 4y ago

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

erikerikson 4y ago

[2011]

haunter 4y ago

You can still buy uncut sheets https://catalog.usmint.gov/paper-currency/uncut-currency/ https://catalog.usmint.gov/paper-currency/uncut-currency/

nly 4y ago
That markup though!
- haunter 4y ago
  Sounds like printing money is actually a good business!
  - xpe 4y ago
    ...when you have a track record of relative currency stability.
bhaney 4y ago
Looks like every single thing is out of stock, so maybe not.
- nohuck13 4y ago
  Wow, checked that link an hour ago and almost everything was in stock then.
  - xpe 4y ago
    Yay, go lemmings! The true spirit of Woz is not to copy existing social hacks. > Brian: Look, you've got it all wrong! You don't need to follow me. You don't need to follow anybody! You've got to think for yourselves! You're all individuals! > Crowd: Yes! We're all individuals! > Brian: You're all different! > Crowd: Yes, we are all different! > Man in crowd: I'm not... > Crowd: Shhh! Source: Monty Python
implements 4y ago
I mean, it’s a neat idea, but … what do you do with them? Framing one as a picture would seem to invite a burglary, and as a source of individual notes it’s much cheaper to go to a bank. Edit: Not intended as a critical question, btw - I was just wondering how you’d use them.
- nestorD 4y ago
  You don't use them as money but they have consecutive serial numbers which has uses...
  - rajamaka 4y ago
    What uses?
    - implements 4y ago
      Yeah, I’m intrigued now!
    - rightbyte 4y ago
      Dunno. Easier to remember the range than more spread out numbers?
- haunter 4y ago
  >what do you do with them? Use them to tip like Steve Wozniak? :D
- themitigating 4y ago
  A personality can be constructed out of eclectic objects
- neilv 4y ago
  The hundreds could be Sweet 16 birthday gift wrap for the keys to a Lamborghini.
  - basementcat 4y ago
Symbiote 4y ago
Does this mean you occasionally find poorly cut bills in normal circulation? If I received one, I'd also be suspicious.
- sneak 4y ago
  Sometimes. I used to buy the sheets and rip out bills with half a bill on the surrounding 4 edges. They make fun party gifts. https://s3.sneak.cloud/sneak-public/2003/2003-02-19.jpg https://s3.sneak.cloud/sneak-public/2003/2003-02-19.jpg
  - lesquivemeau 4y ago
    I really like this image: It's eight days older than me, but the quality is as good as it gets. Most of the photos I have from my early years are quite low-res because they were taken with early digital cameras. Hope these people are doing well!
    - lupire 4y ago
      How do you know the age?
      - sneak 4y ago
        There's a date in the filename. That said, I think it may be misdated, as I think the image is from closer to 2007/8, as I think I shot it on a 40D which only came out in Aug 2007. I've gone through 3 or 4 generations of photo library management software since then and the metadata may have gotten mangled.
        warner25 4y ago
        You can tell the age from the $1 bill itself. It looks like it was printed in 2006 and has the signature of Hank Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury from 2006-2009. You can compare it to his signature: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Paulson#/media/File:Henry_M_Paulson_Jr_sig.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Paulson#/media/File:Henr...
davidgrenier 4y ago
Why is everyone here assuming uncut sheets aren't legal tender? A look at their faq reveals: ``Because the individual notes on uncut currency sheets are legal tender, they may be cut apart and spent.''
- haunter 4y ago
  I think it's the cutting up that makes it wonky. Not being legal or not but instantly suspicious if you see one with scissor cut edges or imagine making it perforated
brightball 4y ago
I’m going to have to try this. Clemson fans travel to away games with stacks of $2 bills stamped with Tiger Paws. Been a tradition since the 70s when Georgia Tech wanted to cancel our annual series, so our fans showed up in Atlanta spending the $2 bills everywhere to make sure everyone knew the economic impact when we came to visit. It was a big deal to our fans because we weren’t going to bowl games every year back then, so our game in Atlanta was the big trip for the season. Been a tradition ever since and our reputation as fans who “travel well” helped ensure bowl game preferences for years. https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/college/clemson/2017/09/28/clemson-vs-virginia-tech-40-anniversary-clemson-2-dollar-bill-tradition/711655001/ https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/college/clemso...

yreg 4y ago

> [The Secret Service agent] asked my for some picture ID. I have some fake photo ID's that a friend made for me years before, when we could make realistic photo ID's from our computers. Almost nobody else could do this because printers weren't good enough. But I had an expensive early generation dye sublimation printer and made some fake ID's for fun. I had one favorite fake ID that I'd used for almost every airplane flight, domestic and international, that I'd taken for many years. It says "Laser Safety Officer" and has a photo of me with an eyepatch. It also says "Department of Defiance" in an arc, in a font that looks like "Department of Defense" to the casual glance. > As I opened my wallet, I considered whether I should risk using this fake ID on the Secret Service. It probably amounted to a real crime. I had my driver's license as well. But you only live once and only a few of us even get a chance like this once in our lives. So I handed him the fake ID. He noted and returned it. The Secret Service took an ID that said "Laser Safety Officer" with a photo of myself wearing an eyepatch. Woz plays life like an RPG.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
dist1ll 4y ago
Isn't it pretty irresponsible to commit a felony while you have a daughter and wife to take care of? I find his nonchalant delivery quite jarring. I don't understand what's going through his head here.
- Asooka 4y ago
  No less irresponsible than charging a man with a felony over an obvious joke.
  - ramraj07 4y ago
    How is using fake IDs to board airplanes a joke? Only because we are mostly sure this particular man is an innocent manchild, but how exactly does that generalize?

csallen 4y ago

> I'd already transferred the maximum yearly tax free gift of $10,000 to each of my kids. If I'm not mistaken, one tip I've heard is that one can transfer more than that in gifts yearly, and although that requires filing a gift tax return with the IRS, it doesn't mean necessarily mean paying any tax. There's a lifetime maximum that has to be hit, and it's extremely high. (I'm not a lawyer nor an accountant, and this is not legal or tax advice, yada yada)

someweirdperson 4y ago
> and it's extremely high "Extremely high" is relative (some 11 million, probably less at that time?), considering the person telling this story.
lotsofpulp 4y ago
The nuance is that if you gift below the yearly reporting amount, it does not count towards the lifetime maximum, since it never has to be reported. So if Woz had given $10,001, then he would have had to file it, and then when he died, it would have added $10,001 towards his total lifetime gift tax exclusion from his estate (currently $13M). But if he gave $10k (or whatever yearly reporting maximum) per year until he dies, then all of that does not get counted towards the $13M lifetime gift tax exclusion, so in a way, it is an additional tax reduction when the estate gets passed down.
- lupire 4y ago
  That's (hard to detect) tax fraud.
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    No, it is perfectly legal. It is called the annual “exclusion” amount, because you get to exclude it from estate tax calculations. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/frequently-asked-questions-on-gift-taxes https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employe... > What can be excluded from gifts? > The general rule is that any gift is a taxable gift. However, there are many exceptions to this rule. Generally, the following gifts are not taxable gifts. >Gifts that are not more than the annual exclusion for the calendar year. >Tuition or medical expenses you pay for someone (the educational and medical exclusions). >Gifts to your spouse. >Gifts to a political organization for its use. >In addition to this, gifts to qualifying charities are deductible from the value of the gift(s) made. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/whats-new-estate-and-gift-tax https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employe...

papito 4y ago

I asked at a bank recently for 100 $2 bills (I needed it for tipping on a cruise ship). The tellers were extremely curious about what it was for. I got 100 still-bundled bills, like in crime movies!

incone123 4y ago
If this isn't something tellers see quite regularly, then what do other cruise passengers do? I asked for a lot of £5 (smallest denomination note in UK) at the bank once because I was going to a music festival (before mobile card payment was routine). They asked me casually why I wanted them and I explained. Seems to be a Know Your Customer thing.
- rswskg 4y ago
  For a period I was withdrawing 5k cash weekly. I was required to wait for 20 minutes each time and give a reason why. I settled on 'money fight' as it seemed to upset them the most.
- PaulRobinson 4y ago
  If they can't just give you the money they have on hand (perhaps deposited by other customers), you are increasing the cost of the transaction for them. Cash is expensive. People complain about card transactions, but wait until you need to deal with cash deposits and withdrawals regularly - that adds up quick, and is the main reason why a lot of businesses in the UK have moved to card only since the pandemic. It's also the case that criminals prefer cash, and a large number of small denomination notes could be used to facilitate a large number of small value crimes more easily. Drug dealing is the obvious one, but there are others. I witnessed a shoplifters being stopped by a security guard once, with £200 worth of goods in their coat (booze, steaks), and they offered a £5 note - "it's all I have" - and by making that offer of payment, they reduced the crime and the penalty somewhat to the point the manager and security officer removed the goods, asked them to leave and told them they weren't welcome any more - no police involved. For all that bank knew, you were running a gang of shoplifters doing this.
  - 4y ago

helsontaveras18 4y ago

I do not understand how the story ended. And that was a very odd story… he is an edgy guy.

082349872349872 4y ago
It ended on (a) a yet more unbelievable note than everything up until that point, and (b) noting that lots of money changed hands that day, but that all the financial details are ancillary to the story, which is what was important. I don't know if I'd say "edgy", so much as a hacker — and there have been hackers in all generations, eg https://books.google.ch/books?id=V3ByEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA575&lpg=PA575&dq=maxwell+for+fun+zoetrope+little+man+körner&source=bl&ots=ZoqxUPdA0J&sig=ACfU3U212p3ONPlUgkDIODkLmAx5w3fbKw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQ5qnD0uz8AhV0hP0HHZgJB0MQ6AF6BAgDEAM#v=onepage&q=maxwell%20for%20fun%20zoetrope%20little%20man%20körner&f=false https://books.google.ch/books?id=V3ByEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA575&lpg=P...
- ShamelessC 4y ago
  This definition of "hacker" is effectively synonymous with "edgy and deviant". You can maybe add "intelligent", but eh, that's giving too much credit.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- lupire 4y ago
  He's showing off (or lying) that he's so rich they he can throw away $7500 as a joke because he's already committed to giving his daughter $10M+.
  - xboxnolifes 4y ago
    He didn't throw away $7500. He gave his daughter $7500, which left him out $7500 due to tax reasons.

dsq 4y ago

Was Wozniak already “the Woz” of Apple fame when this story took place? In which case I assume he could afford the best lawyers on the planet if necessary, plus the President calling to get him out of trouble. An ordinary civilian might fall down that hole never to come out again. Just showing a fake ID to a fed could be met with serious retribution.

alpaca128 4y ago
I'm pretty sure Wozniak didn't yet have a 12 year old daughter before Apple.
tbarone 4y ago
That was the most surprising thing to me by far. Dangerous game to play, imagine trying to convince a judge that "I was not intentionally looking for trouble".
- ChuckNorris89 4y ago
  Yeah, no government likes it when you mess with their currency.
  - xpe 4y ago
    Right. It also would seem likely that at least one protector of said currency (the agent in the story) didn't know his domain (currency sheets are legit). Unless he just wanted to harrass Woz, or maybe because they suspected him of other mischief and wanted to see if he misstepped.
    - tgsovlerkhgsel 4y ago
      You can buy currency sheets. You cannot buy perforated currency booklets. It's reasonable to be suspicious about the latter, especially as I suspect Woz didn't start the interview with "I bought the currency sheets then had them turned into this" - and anyways, by that time the agent had a checklist to run through, likely including the passport numbers etc. as mentioned in the article. Even knowing that the bills are being sold in sheets, you wouldn't want to be the agent who let someone go who was doing everything exactly as Woz did except for getting the currency sheets from the guy printing the North Korean superbills...

brailsafe 4y ago

As a Canadian, somehow I didn't know the U.S still used $2 bills

Aardwolf 4y ago
Despite being similar value, for euros, the bills only start at 5 euro, while 1 and 2 euro are coins.
- ilammy 4y ago
  There is also a story that US cannot change the design of their $1 bill because of Big Vending.
  - hnfong 4y ago
    Inflation might get things moving! :)
- brailsafe 4y ago
  Same in Canada
ElfinTrousers 4y ago
I've lived my entire life here and was well into my 40s the first time I ever saw one. When I did get hold of one, I did what many people do with it, which is to tuck it away in a side pocket of my wallet as a curiosity, rather than spend it.
TAKEMYMONEY 4y ago
I've had Americans refuse to accept my $2 bills because they thought they were a joke instead of real currency
xboxnolifes 4y ago
You will almost never come across them unless someone goes out of their way to obtain them like Woz. Outside of one rare occurrence where I received change in golden dollars and $2 bills, the only time I've seen $2 bills was when my father would buy them to tip with.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

jesprenj 4y ago

Can one buy uncut sheets of euro banknotes?

Tade0 4y ago
Haven't heard of any, but when it was first introduced, the Euro was fairly easy to copy. There was a man in Italy nicknamed il Professore who was notorious for producing them in bulk while not being particularly conspicuous about it. According to an anecdote from one of his family members when a cashier tried to confirm whether the 20€ banknote he gave her was legitimate he said "lady, it costs me 18€ to make one of these, so I don't even bother".
- PartiallyTyped 4y ago
  Could that be the inspiration of "the professor" in Netflix's "Money heist"?

curiousgal 4y ago

> But I had got a big point on him and I was quite satisfied in that. I hate this attitude so much.

filchermcurr 4y ago
Agreed. I found this whole story made him sound very unlikable. Like he considers everybody to be below him to the point of being playthings. Kind of gross.
- concordDance 4y ago
  Everyone should play with everyone else and have a good time.
  - thombat 4y ago
    And if the person you're playing with isn't having a good time as a result? If you're the guy at the head of the queue dicking around, while behind you are the people waiting to get on with their lives?
squillion 4y ago
Yeah, what a self-absorbed, giant jerk. He missed his daughter's competition but of course he'd do it again anytime for the lulz. BTW the basic facts might be true but the details reek of bullshit.

mgaunard 4y ago

[flagged]

enriquto 4y ago
Considering the author and the subject of this text, you shouldn't discard that a kind of xkcd 326 situation is at play here.
- someweirdperson 4y ago
  A peak is followed by a decline. Why try to intenionally peak it, when there's a chance that it might get even better?
  - mgaunard 4y ago
    the correct word is "pique", obviously. "peak" doesn't make any sense in this context.

rvieira 4y ago

It's funny and a bit sad that society is so complex we (I) don't even know something as "simple" as what the forms of acceptable currency are.

O__________O 4y ago

Related US Mint page for $2 bill sheets: https://catalog.usmint.gov/paper-currency/uncut-currency/?&prefv1=2dollar#prefn1=coinDenomination&prefv1=2dollar https://catalog.usmint.gov/paper-currency/uncut-currency/?&p... Basically he tells story in a way that average person assume he’s printing fake bills, when in reality he’s just cutting and binding sets of uncut bills into a notepad. Lying to a federal investigator though is a federal crime and one that’s frequently resulted in prison sentences. Worth noting that Jobs & Woz first product was actually a device to make illegal free calls: http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/10/steve-jobs-first-business-was-selling-blue-boxes-that-allowed-users-to-get-free-phone-service-illegally/ http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/10/steve-jobs-f...

xpe 4y ago
Woz didn't lie according to his account. Technically, he gave a fake ID, but not a fake drivers license. I say this b/c DL's don't show occupation. My understanding is that it had his correct name. So I don't see a lie that most prosecutors would care about given the whole situation. Not to mention that it is not a good look for a secret service agent to not know the details of the actual currency he is tasked to protect (e.g. available in perforated sheets). I suppose it is possible the agent got called in not knowing the specific details warranting arrest*, but that would be even worse. * Am I right to think that Woz was arrested given that he was read his Miranda rights?
- O__________O 4y ago
  > makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry; https://codes.findlaw.com/us/title-18-crimes-and-criminal-procedure/18-usc-sect-1001.html https://codes.findlaw.com/us/title-18-crimes-and-criminal-pr...
  - doctor_eval 4y ago
    But was it materially false? im not sure his fake occupation was at all relevant, and since the document identified Woz, I suspect it was materially true.

cardanome 4y ago

I don't get the humor. Oh, look, that was so funny putting myself into a situation that most people would be scared shitless to be in and might not have ended well for them! Let's just waste everyone's time so they can humor me on a joke! I am such an edgy rich white guy! A real hacker! What an absolute tool.

corobo 4y ago
> that was so funny putting myself into a situation that most people would be scared shitless to be in and might not have ended well for them! Same attitude paid off in his little Apple computer hobby.
lupire 4y ago
You seem to have it backwards. They wasted his time.

dianfishekqi 4y ago

[Woz's $2 bill sheets] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ1TIYxm1vM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ1TIYxm1vM

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

JoeAltmaier 4y ago

Lots of timid, humorless folks having trouble imagining not being a sheep and always coloring inside the lines. I for one wish there were more real people around, living life for liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Like we were intended to live.

filchermcurr 4y ago
And I, for one, am glad that society as a whole doesn't behave this way. Imagine how obnoxious it would be if every other social interaction was somebody messing with you. Wonderful.
- scotty79 4y ago
  Instead we have someone in every other social interaction trying to sell or upsell something.
- bdhess 4y ago
  Imagine how obnoxious it would be if you were detained by a federal agent for totally legal behavior.
- ztrww 4y ago
  Is every other person you interact with is a federal agent or a TSA employee?
- xpe 4y ago
  Very little is what it seems. Jordan Peterson makes a convincing argument that dominance hierarchies (having biologically existed longer than sex differentiation) drive significant portions of many interactions even today. So if you think of social interactions in this way, many people may (sort of) "mess with you" in the sense that they are testing your position in some hierarchy. All of this said, I haven't seen a critical analysis of Peterson's theory, which from what I can tell, does not connect the dots, so to speak, from biological behavior to individual intentions. Still, I think it is fair to say that individual intentions are not required for Peterson's explanation. The human brain does much that is neither conscious nor intentional in the usual senses of the words. This theory is really interesting to explore and extrapolate. I'll give an example. Let's say someone treats you with a normal level of politeness. You could argue that they are not messing with you, and not challenging your position in any dominance hierarchy. But perhaps this shows they feel confident enough to address you as a peer. Or perhaps they feel like they are in a higher position, and have no need to flaunt it. In any case, your subsequent response will provide a lot of data for the other person. I think of the number of times that people humble brag. Or the subtle things people do to demonstrate knowledge. The more I think about it, the more I think Peterson's theory is useful in an explanatory sense. To be clear, I'm not saying I agree with any moral philosophy that suggests such behavior is ideal from an ethical perspective.

chrismarlow9 4y ago

Wow there are some angry people in these comments.

implements 4y ago
Well, I guess Woz was being a “prankster” - and from Wikipedia: “A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort”. I can see the playful side of it, but people and places where pranks are not generally well received would be federal agents and casinos - so from the ‘victims’ point of view I expect they could have done without the bother.
- lupire 4y ago
  Why does a casino, a legalized scam operation, deserve respect? When you are a retired billionaire, you have freedom to explore. See also Penn Jillete's airport "security" protest, though he wasn't retired or a billionaire , but was willing to spend his time/money/privilege fighting for our rights.

thrdbndndn 4y ago

..and web.archive.org is down. Probably not hugged to death, since their server is unstable for quite awhile.

mv4 4y ago

Re: "I had one favorite fake ID that I'd used for almost every airplane flight, domestic and international, that I'd taken for many years." How times have changed.

risfriend 4y ago

This seems like a plausible thing to do if you run out of change to tip, banks may not easily give out bundles of $2 in cash simply because of shortage and found this another way to grab lot of $2 notes.

pigtailgirl 4y ago

-- He was on Steve-O's podcast - few months ago - the whole episode is hilarious - - the $2 bill stuff - its at 1:25:25 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRi8r0XQFHU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRi8r0XQFHU - Steve-O (guy from jackass) podcast is great - btw --

markus_zhang 4y ago

This guy is a legend. A living example my engineer self can look up to.

atorodius 4y ago

What a trip of a story.

jabart 4y ago

As a kid I was in the store with my parents and we were in line for the register. Some guy turned around and looked at me and said "Hey kid, ever seen a $2 bill before?" I said no, and he ripped off a $2 from a pad and handed it to me. To this day I have this $2 bill because I thought it was fake. This is the midwest, no way was this Woz but now I feel that this might not be a fake $2 bill anymore.

jsz0 4y ago

One of the greatest flaws of modern society is how we systematically beat this natural childlike enthusiasm for bending the rules out of people. I'm just old enough to remember when 'it was just a joke' was a legitimate excuse that could get you out of trouble. If the joke was funny and didn't hurt anyone you might get a slap not he wrist but people of all ages appreciated your effort to make the world a less grim place.

xavdid 4y ago
The problem you run into is that people can do legitimately harmful things, and claim it was "just a joke". It ruins it for everyone, unfortunately.
- oehpr 4y ago
  Funny how, in my life experience, "It was just a joke" has been the exclusive use of people who were definitely not joking, absolutely intended to do harmful things, and simply liked hurting people. They simply thought that so long as they found it amusing, the harm others experienced physically, emotionally, or materially, were not really of consequence. After all, surely if they were in their targets shoes, they would have thicker skin. And that definitely isn't a lie they're telling themselves and others.

Invictus0 4y ago

This comment section is really disappointing. Should change the name of the site to Anal-Retentive Snobs News.

Slighted 4y ago
Its unfortunate how many people can't take a joke. Wozniak certainly wasn't wasting anyone's time as the bills were legal. Wozniak didn't have to deal with the SS agent either and could've easily invoked his 5th amendment right to silence, but he was cooperative instead. Based on the story, it doesn't look as though he claimed his fake ID was a legitimate one either and just handed it over as part of a generic question. No, don't try to tell me how the secret service agent and the casino employees were victims and how this somehow ties into white privilege or some crap like that. Try spending some time off the internet and return to real life.

kidme5 4y ago

The end of this story (paying taxes on $7500 winnings) seems to be hinting at something. Is the message that of course nobody follows all the rules? (Pays those gift taxes)

astrostl 4y ago

I 'bought' a bunch of (cut) $2 bills from a bank ages ago to use for tips, and people do love it.

dorfsmay 4y ago

I can't help but wonder if the lack of https on woz.org is intentional or simply overlooked.

mxtihvb 4y ago

From Walter Isaacson's biography: Woz and Jobs got their first big break from selling physical copies of the 'Blue Box', a device which allowed you to place long-distance phone calls through intelligently breaking AT&T's phone routing network. In today's 'wire fraud' day and age, this 100% would have been illegal -- so note that these two people made today's most valuable company! Relatively speaking, printing a photo ID or $2 bills is nothing. It is the hacker spirit (notice we are on a site called hacker news!).

gelstudios 4y ago

The patron saint of hackers is making the rounds again. Whether you are a fan or not, his book "iWoz" is full of these stories like trolling casino pit bosses with the pad of bills. A few years ago I had the privilege of meeting the woz after an event at which he was a speaker. I was surprised at how humble and patient he was with people vying for his attention, many asking for him to autograph laptops and whatever else they had at hand. I got his attention when I asked him about tetris and we geeked out a bit over it. Thats a story for another day but I did walk away from that conversation with a prized souvenir -- an autographed $2 bill: https://imgur.com/gallery/TQo0KOi https://imgur.com/gallery/TQo0KOi ... and a laser cut steel business card :)

spiritplumber 4y ago

Due to this story, if I am teaching basic electronics or how to use a 3d printer to kids, I "pay them for the day's work" with a new $2 bill (which you can get at any bank if you ask and wait a few days). I like them because instead of having some guy on the back they have a pretty painting of the Constitution. I sometimes to have to explain to the parents that yes it's real money.

Animats 4y ago

Oh, the notebook full of tear-off dollar bills. That used to be a thing. I once read that it was originated by the publicity director of Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey. Although setting them up for 4-up and perforated is over complicating things.

indigodaddy 4y ago

For anyone having trouble with the archive.org link as I was..: https://archive.ph/n8vwp https://archive.ph/n8vwp

bentobean 4y ago

> I carry large sheets, folded in my pocket, and sometimes pull out scissors and cut a few off to pay for something in a store. It's just for comedy, as the $2 bills cost nearly $3 each when purchased on sheets. > When he said that they don't make bills like this I asked "They don't?" as though I thought it was quite normal to have sheets. My answer was also so emotionless as to confuse him about me, and to make me seem even more evasive. This, again, I do for a comedic effect. Is it just me, or does the man simply not understand what comedy is? I enjoy a good joke as much as the next guy. That said, if you are routinely paying for items at the register by cutting bills off of a sheet with scissors and handing the police a fake ID when asked for identification, you’re basically asking for trouble. And you’re almost certainly going to waste a lot of people’s valuable time. Generally speaking, I do really like Woz as a person. But in this particular instance, he does kind of come across as a big pain in the ass.

kwikiel 4y ago

Seems like you can still buy sheets like that: https://catalog.usmint.gov/2-four-note-sheet-B9491.html?cgid=uncut-currency#start=1 https://catalog.usmint.gov/2-four-note-sheet-B9491.html?cgid...

kristianp 4y ago

So he bought sheets of uncut bills from the mint and got them perforated? Are they legal tender when bought in sheets?

x-complexity 4y ago

Some of the comments in here scare me to bits: If HN's userbase is that scared of poking at the edges/inconsistencies of authority, even in jest, then how would anyone gain the expertise of challenging said authority when top-down control is pushed too far?

larvaetron 4y ago
> HN's userbase is that scared of poking at the edges/inconsistencies of authority, even in jest It wasn't always like this, even just 5 years ago. I don't know where all the weirdos came from but they've fundamentally changed this site, and not in a good way.

l0b0 4y ago

The original title[1] is 'Woz and the Secret Service: "The infamous $2 bill incident"' [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20120127020131/http://archive.woz.org/letters/general/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120127020131/http://archive.wo...

madmax108 4y ago

Incase anyone wanted to see what the sheet of $2 bills looks like: https://twitter.com/mrexits/status/1619179141533954050 https://twitter.com/mrexits/status/1619179141533954050

decker 4y ago

This would have been perfect if it ended a paragraph earlier.

bluenomatterwho 4y ago

Sheesh the comments on the ID! All morality and legality aside, we have to take a little bit of context into account. The Great Woz is behaving in the much heralded spirit of the age, encapsulated in things like Make. He may as well actually be the Lazer and Chief (retired) of the Defiance Department. A sense of humor might help with the nuance. Imagine the back-office or radio chatter tho. "Casino security says the bills are real. They have better machines than we do. Right. Some technician at Apple. Makes sense. Alright Tom I'll call you back."