The American dollar is the current world standard currency, and even though a majority of Americans now use debit cards to conduct financial transactions, some people prefer to pay cash. Unlike our measurement systems, the dollar is based on base ten, so 100 cents (pennies) makes a dollar, and then of course there are three other coins: the nickel (worth 5 cents), the dime (10 cents) and the quarter (25 cents). Other denominations exist, but are not in wide circulation. Each coin is a unique size and has differing edges: the penny and nickel edges are smooth; the dime and quarter edges are ridged and such identification differences allow the consumer know what coins he or she has, even if theyre in a pocket. Bills have been introduced in Congress to eliminate coinage, especially the penny, which incredibly costs 1.8 cents per penny to manufacture. Vending machine manufacturers dont care for coinage, either, as the coin changing systems have a tendency to jam. But Americans refuse to give them up, and most of us have a collection of them sitting in a jar, or collecting dust in our couch cushions and under our car seats.
21. Reality television
Some say that the unique form of voyeurism known as reality television got its start with Candid Camera, but it really became a phenomenon with the advent of MTVs The Real World and CBSs Survivor. Reality shows are much cheaper to produce than professional-quality programming; for every million-dollar episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, you can produce a whole season of a reality show. Now it has its own sub-genres, such as: special environment (Big Brother); soap-opera (Real Housewives franchise); celebrities (Keeping Up With The Kardashians); professional (COPS); family (Jon & Kate Plus 8); legal (The Peoples Court); dating (The Bachelor/Bachelorette); talent shows (American Idol); self-improvement (The Biggest Loser); real-estate makeovers (Trading Spaces); social engineering (Wife Swap); paranormal (Ghost Hunters); cooking (The Food Network); dangerous professions (Ice Road Truckers), and even the WWE has a couple of shows. TLC (The Learning Channel) is one of the biggest beneficiaries of this voyeuristic genre, especially with their family shows such as 19 Kids and Counting, Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo, Breaking Amish; they might as well change their name to The Lurid Channel. And the subjects of the shows become celebrities in their own right: witness the marketing phenomenon that is Duck Dynasty. Yes it's all terrible and tacky, but as long as we're watching them, the world will continue to suffer them as a secondary audience. You're welcome.
