Challenge #01946-E122: Change for the Better
Paper clips, rubber bands, and the ever reliable wire coat-hanger. -- Anon Guest
In accordance with Galactic Standards and Practices verses the JOAT Conglomerate, all Standard Screws will now feature a slot to accommodate the use of a 5 Sec Coin in lieu of any screwdriver.
Truly. This was a day of victory. Of course, the fine print under the announcement reassured business owners that secure spaces were still allowed to use non-standard fastenings, so long as they provided the relevant tools on a pay-to-play system, but that was never what the JOAT Conglomerate had been fighting for. They had been fighting for in a pinch tool use.
Rare though it was, there were times when a JOAT found themselves without their usual toolkit. Separated from their multi-pocketed rainbow coat, or otherwise incapacitated. Then were the desperate moments that a JOAT only had the tools available to them in a pinch. And when pinched, a JOAT could use anything small and handy as a tool. Paperclips had long since become defunct since the near-extinction of paper, but they were still manufactured and carried around because people had found other uses for them.
But a paperclip could only become a screwdriver in special circumstances.
Hence the role of loose change in daily Galactic Life. Everyone used Time as money. Some preferred digital exchange, but most liked the tactile feedback of physical coin and notes. Especially since those could not be hacked. Or lost in a server crash. Or any number of things that could happen to data in an environment full of all kinds of electromagnetic interference. Which inevitably resulted in the five second coin being robust, plentiful, useful for charity collections, and just about everywhere.
And if a JOAT had a pocket, there was bound to be a 5 Sec Coin around the bottom or in an unsuspecting corner. Which, in combination with a pair of pliers, could become an emergency screwdriver. And if pliers were not available, chopsticks and ductape frequently were.
A related article declared that JOATs across the Galactic Alliance were having a half-day holiday. And the JOATs were free to decide which half, if any, they were celebrating in. Because no JOAT worth their salt ever takes an entire day off.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / BWFolsom]
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