Code, nerd culture and humor from Greg Knauss.

I recently bought a four-pack of Play-Doh — big plans for the weekend — at my local Toys R Us and received, along with my purchase, over a foot and a half of receipt. That comes out to almost an inch of paper for every dime I spent. Here it is, broken down by height in inches:

Sweepstakes Portion
Top margin 0.50
Logo 0.75
Feedback invitation, “$200 weekly sweepstakes” 1.00
“See our website for complete rules” 0.50
URL 0.25
Spanish with character encoding problems, “espan¿ol” 0.50
Deadline 0.50
Log-in information 0.50
Purchase Portion
Top margin 0.25
Logo 0.75
“SAVE ALL RECEIPTS” 0.25
Phone and address 0.25
Requirement of receipt for returns 0.50
Inscrutable internal codes 0.75
Item description, cost and UPC 0.25
Subtotal, tax, total, tender and change 1.00
Cashier’s name 0.50
Bar code and receipt number 0.75
Thank you and URL 0.25
Recall information and job opportunities 0.25
Notice of return policy 0.25
Time stamp 0.50
Gift Receipt Portion
Top margin 0.50
Logo 0.75
“SAVE ALL RECEIPTS” 0.25
Phone and address 0.25
Requirement of receipt for returns 0.50
Inscrutable internal codes 0.75
”**** GIFT RECIEPT ****” 0.25
Item description, UPC and tax rate 1.00
”**** GIFT RECIEPT ****” 0.25
Mislabeled “TOTAL” with receipt number 0.25
Gift receipt explanation 1.00
Bar code and receipt number 0.75
Thank you and URL 0.25
Recall information and job opportunities 0.25
Notice of return policy 0.25
Time stamp 0.50

Another recent receipt from Home Depot — for a screw that cost less than a buck — was twelve and a half inches long. A weekly shopping trip to Ralphs leaves us with a couple of feet of receipt.

And all of them have that pink stripe, because the damned paper tape roll is always running out.

Hi there! My name's GREG KNAUSS and I like to make things.

Some of those things are software (like Romantimatic), Web sites (like the Webby-nominated Metababy and The American People) and stories (for Web sites like Suck and Fray, print magazines like Worth and Macworld, and books like "Things I Learned About My Dad" and "Rainy Day Fun and Games for Toddler and Total Bastard").

My e-mail address is greg@eod.com. I'd love to hear from you!

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