Got a Penny? Go Buy Glue
To show how the penny is shortchanged in the value hierarchy, Office Max launched a campaign called "Power to the Penny." Toting a hidden camera, comedian Matt McCarthy pisses people off all over New York City by trying to buy stuff, like steak dinners, with nothing but bags full of copper coinage.
My favourite scene from the above video:
Chef (who pops outta nowhere): "How about if you come in here and you order the steak, and I take the steak, and I put it in the blender, and I give you the steak in a milkshake. Is that a steak?"
Long pause.
Matt McCarthy: "Why don't you go back in the kitchen, because you're not helping the situation."
I wish I had a penny for every time daddy said that to mommy.
More videos at PennyPranks. Each one ends with a clip-happy visual orgy of everything you can buy at Office Max for a penny. Crayons! Yardsticks! Glue! It's diorama time.