Current Currency

The following is based on true events:

• Person 1- How much did that cost?
• Person 2- About 2000 pounds.
• Person 1- Wow. That's a ton.

Pun intended.

The previous joke is made possible because the measure of currency in the country we are currently in also happens to be a measure of weight. The Pound. This leads to hundreds of similar joke opportunities.

• Person A- This muffin is only four pounds.
• Person B- It doesn't look nearly that heavy.

There are many other ways in which the £ is different from the regular old $.

1. The British pound (GBP) is currently worth exactly $1.67 (USD). In about five minutes, that number will have changed.
2. They are officially called Pounds sterling.
3. You should not abbreviate the pound as .lbs.
4. 'Quid' is slang for pound. This comes from the Latin phrase 'Quid pro quo' meaning 'Give me all of your money, I've got a knife.'
5. There is no £1 note, but there is a £2 coin. The British once made a £6.34 note.
6. A pound is divided into 100 pence. One of these pence is worth several thousand Japanese yen.
7. The currency makes weightlifting much easier as people are able to carry around hundreds of pounds in their pockets without breaking a sweat.
8. Just like everything else in this country, all pounds have a picture of the Queen somewhere. The closest any American money comes to that is with Hamilton on the $10 bill.

Since arriving in the UK, many of us have probably fallen into the trap of seeing pounds as having the same worth in dollars. Something seems less expensive because of the number on the price tag, but is actually more so because of the strength of the GBP. No wonder traveling is so expensive.

I've enjoyed spending time in the UK almost as much as I've enjoyed spending money in the UK. Dealing with a strange foreign currency has been almost like dealing with a foreign language. Except that money is a universal language. Does that make me bilingual?

At least I know that by the end of this trip I'll have lost a lot of weight.