freespirit
21st January 2012, 02:57 PM
Is toilet paper stronger than our new polymer $100 bill?
http://blog.yourmoney.ca/2012/01/is-toilet-paper-is-stronger-than-our-new-polymer-100-bill.html
...from the article...
Charles Shepard, a Brandon, Manitoba resident withdrew 12 of the new plastic $100 bills from a local bank. When he received the bills, he noticed two of them already had cracks in them and started tearing even more when he handled them.
This was surprising given that these new polymer bills have been billed as nearly indestructible. According to the Bank of Canada, the new bills are supposed to last two-and-a-half times longer than the old paper ones.
When Shepard got home, he decided to put the new bills to the test.
He took a cracked bill and placed a full Coca Cola can on top of it. When he pulled the bill, it easily ripped into half. He tried the same test with a cracked $50 paper bill and increased the weight to three Coke cans. The bill dragged the cans along with itself. Then, Shepard placed three Coke cans on a 2-ply toilet paper and surprisingly there were no tears.
Watch this video to see the experiment for yourself:
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20120119/Manitoba-man-rip-test-exposes-flaw-new-bill-120119/
So there you have it: our new $100 Canadian bill is weaker than something you wipe with.
Two of the main reasons for rolling out the new bills were to tackle counterfeit bills and make a more durable currency. After this home experiment, it’s clear that the new polymer bills aren’t as strong as they are portrayed to be.
Moreover, the Bank of Canada knew about this issue. As seen in the video, Bank of Canada’s regional representative said, “One of the elements of the polymer compound upon which the bills are printed will basically cause the bills to tear is there’s a nick on any of the four sides of the bill.”
It is interesting to see that the bank rolled out these new bills without resolving the problem first. The least they could have done was inform Canadians of this issue.
With the new $50 scheduled to circulate in March 2012, it would be a good idea for the Bank of Canada to iron out all the nicks and cracks.
Update (January 20, 2012): New reports point out that the new polymer bill is also vulnerable to shrinkage caused by heat.
...(my bolding)...that sentence speaks volumes!
http://blog.yourmoney.ca/2012/01/is-toilet-paper-is-stronger-than-our-new-polymer-100-bill.html
...from the article...
Charles Shepard, a Brandon, Manitoba resident withdrew 12 of the new plastic $100 bills from a local bank. When he received the bills, he noticed two of them already had cracks in them and started tearing even more when he handled them.
This was surprising given that these new polymer bills have been billed as nearly indestructible. According to the Bank of Canada, the new bills are supposed to last two-and-a-half times longer than the old paper ones.
When Shepard got home, he decided to put the new bills to the test.
He took a cracked bill and placed a full Coca Cola can on top of it. When he pulled the bill, it easily ripped into half. He tried the same test with a cracked $50 paper bill and increased the weight to three Coke cans. The bill dragged the cans along with itself. Then, Shepard placed three Coke cans on a 2-ply toilet paper and surprisingly there were no tears.
Watch this video to see the experiment for yourself:
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20120119/Manitoba-man-rip-test-exposes-flaw-new-bill-120119/
So there you have it: our new $100 Canadian bill is weaker than something you wipe with.
Two of the main reasons for rolling out the new bills were to tackle counterfeit bills and make a more durable currency. After this home experiment, it’s clear that the new polymer bills aren’t as strong as they are portrayed to be.
Moreover, the Bank of Canada knew about this issue. As seen in the video, Bank of Canada’s regional representative said, “One of the elements of the polymer compound upon which the bills are printed will basically cause the bills to tear is there’s a nick on any of the four sides of the bill.”
It is interesting to see that the bank rolled out these new bills without resolving the problem first. The least they could have done was inform Canadians of this issue.
With the new $50 scheduled to circulate in March 2012, it would be a good idea for the Bank of Canada to iron out all the nicks and cracks.
Update (January 20, 2012): New reports point out that the new polymer bill is also vulnerable to shrinkage caused by heat.
...(my bolding)...that sentence speaks volumes!