The Slice: Some fairly common cents

A penny for your thoughts.

“I always find change, always pick it up, never give a thought to germy coins,” wrote Carl Eklund. “My mantra, that I believe I coined, is: It’s not the penny earned, it’s the calorie burned.”

“I pick up pennies and other coins, only if they are heads up and I step on them first,” said Carrie Webbenhurst. “Not certain why, something I have done since I was young.”

“Yes, I never pass up the opportunity to pick up a penny, no matter where I find it,” wrote Bill Kaufman. “Guess it goes back to my childhood when my parents told us it was good luck to pick up a lost penny.”

Scott Cooper estimated that he acquires a dollar or two each year from picking up pennies and other coins. “I’m always on the lookout. My working theory is to pay special attention to wherever people park their cars because as they pull keys out of their pockets the odd coin will hitch a ride.”

Sherri Hyams said when she finds a penny she picks it up, puts it in her shoe and makes a wish.

Then there was this from Donna Potter Phillips. “My father and I were in a decades-long contest to see who could pick up the most coins. People we were with were amazed that we’d spot them everywhere. He was ahead in 2009 when he passed away. In his honor and memory I keep looking and collecting. By now I am ahead but that victory is not as much fun.”

One goal when naming children: Mike Storms has known a guy whose initials were PEE and a woman whose initials were PIG. He sought to avoid that sort of outcome when helping to choose names for his daughters.

More on Friday.

Today’s fun fact about a Slice reader: Polly Carlson’s husband is Carl Carlson and that is his real name.

How you look in old prom photos: “With my suit, vest and watch fob, I bore a striking resemblance to a young Sebastian Cabot or Sydney Greenstreet,” said John Petrofski.

Today’s Slice question: How well are you able to communicate while swishing around a big glug of mouthwash?