Mind-Blowing Money Facts We Bet You Don’t Know

Did you know that if you have $10 in your pocket and no debt, you’re richer than 25% of Americans? Or that Northwest Airlines saved $500,000 a year simply by slicing limes (for drinks) into 16 instead of 10?  Here are some other mind-blowing money facts you probably don’t know.

1. It costs more to produce and distribute a penny than it’s actually worth. In 2017, the U.S. Mint spent 1.82 cents for each penny.  This is up from 1.50 cents in 2016.
2. Stockholm has a “Speed Camera Lottery”. Drive too fast and you’ll be issued a ticket.  Obey the speed limit and you’ll automatically be entered in a lottery.  The prize money comes from the fines paid by speeders.
3. Up to 90 percent of U.S. dollar bills have traces of cocaine on them. Scientists found that the amounts ranged from .006 micrograms to 1,240 micrograms of cocaine per bill.  Banknotes found in Boston, Baltimore and Detroit tested the highest.
4. Aerosmith has made more money from Guitar Hero than album sales.
5. The next time you hand a cashier a $20 bill and you see them check its authenticity, don’t be offended. Twenty-dollar bills are the most counterfeited denomination of money in the U.S.  $100 bills come in at number two.
6. In case you were wondering, North Korea produces the most counterfeit U.S. bills.
7. In 2016, travelers left behind $867,812.39 in loose change at TSA security checkpoints.  A whopping $70,615 came from passengers flying through JFK airport.
8. You’d need 14.5 million banknotes to stack your money a mile high.
9. American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by serving one less olive on their First-Class salads.
10. Heads or tails? In a coin flip, people are three times more likely to bet “heads” than “tails”.
11. The Secret Service was originally established to stop the production of fake money.
12. On the back of the $100 bill, the clock on Independence Hall is set to 4:10.
13. In 1912, a foundling hospital in Paris raffled off babies to raise money and find homes for orphans.
14. Game of Thrones has boosted Northern Ireland’s economy by over $100M.
15. Artists must study and practice for 10 years before they can become a banknote engraver.
16. The first penny was designed by Benjamin Franklin in 1787 and had the phrase “Mind your business” on it.
17. Research shows that people tip their servers better when it’s sunny outside versus when it’s cloudy or raining.
18. For a first-class ticket on the Titanic, you’d pay approximately $100,000 in today’s dollars.
19. If you had $10 billion in singles and spent one every second of every day, you’d go broke in 317 years.
20. It takes about 8,000 folds for a banknote to rip.
21. Pablo Escobar used to spend $2,500 a month on rubber bands to keep his money organized.
22. While on the run, Escobar also took $2M in cash and used it to start a fire to keep his daughter warm.
23. Almost half of the world’s population lives on less than $2.50 a day.
24. Gambling rakes in more money than sports, music, movies, theme parks and cruises combined.
25. In 1976, Apple co-founder Ronald Wayne sold his 10% share in the company for $800. Today, it’s worth over $80 million.
26. IRS employees have an “Internal Revenue Manual” which tells them how to collect taxes after a nuclear attack. Clearly, Uncle Sam is serious about his money.
27. Bob Marley’s last words to his son Ziggy were “Money can’t buy life”.