Down at Au Bon Pain a few minutes ago, I grabbed a bagel and a milk. I paid for the items, was receiveing my change, and noticed something funny about the dime that I got back. I took a quick look at it, and it was a Canadian dime. So I pointed this out to cashier, so that I might get an American dime–and I had the hardest time getting my point across. It seems that the cashier seemed to think she gave me too much change, and I had to communicate, almost in sign language, that she had, in fact, given me currency that does not have any value in U.S. stores. But she finally understood and the next time she opened the register, she gave me a U.S. dime.

Of course, she tossed the Canadian one right back into the dime bin.