Monday, June 28, 2010

Weird logic


Walking home, I was tempted by a roadside vendor selling corn cobs.
“How much?”, I asked.
“One is eight rupees”, he said, “or three for twenty rupees.”
“I’ll take four”, I said, picking out the cobs. “How much?”
“Thirty rupees”, he said.
“Thirty rupees?”, I asked. “But if it is twenty rupees for three, how can four cost thirty rupees?”
“Okay”, he conceded. “Twenty-eight rupees.”
Which is exactly what I would have paid had I bought three cobs, then asked for one more.

Whether he was dumb, or whether he thought me dumb, he definitely lost a customer that day.



_____
A drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

20 comments:

Jessica Bell said...

haha! You get the same thing here with the fellas that sell corn cobs and roasted chestnuts :o)

Mason Canyon said...

He probably thought you won't catch the difference.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That't how they make the extra bucks.

Lydia Kang said...

Whether you got them or not, now I want one!

Anonymous said...

Rayna - Oh, that is strange logic. Or the logic of someone who thought he could cheat you. Good for you to be aware of that - er - logic ; ).

dipali said...

The corn looks so tempting, weird logic notwithstanding:)

Jennifer A. said...

Lol.

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Very tempting, pity I have just had my meal, another good story.

Yvonne.

KCSherri said...

That is too funny - I think he was trying to pull one over on you! Love it!

LTM said...

sounds like a great scene for a future book~ ;o)

Unknown said...

I HATE when venders try to rip me off. I sometimes go to the market at the bottom of my street. Because I'm a GRINGO, I get charged more. Sometimes I will take my Mexican friends and get them to ask and when I go back, they always add like twenty pesos... what!?

CD

Southpaw said...

How frustrating! Vendors seem to just look for people not paying attention.

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

Another fun story but the picture made me hungry.

Mary
Giggles and Guns

Tina said...

This math nerd loved this drabble. Great piece!

Jemi Fraser said...

That was fun! Glad you didn't get ripped off! :)

Natasha said...

@ Jessica - maybe it is a particular kind of vendor who does it- most interesting that.

@ Mason- he definitely did not realise he was talking to a maths nerd.

@ Alex - and that is exactly what I don't understand. Why bother to quote a discounted price for three?

@ Lydia- as did I. Wish I could send one to you virtually.

@ Margot- I somehow think it is the latter. And I hate being ripped off. Would have gladly paid full price if I had to.

@ Dipali- butta always is.

@ Jaycee- :-)

@ Yvonne - corn never hurt anyone!

@ Sherrie- wonder if anyone really fell for it?

@ LTM- if you want to borrow the scene, you are more than welcome to.

@ Clarissa- that sucks. How does you being a gringo have anything to do with it. Except, it does.

@ Southpaw- wonder if anyone falls for it.

@ Mary- grab a cob.

@ Tina- I bet she did! If she finds the logic, can she let me know?

@ Jemi- had he never quoted the discounted price, I would have bought four at the price he quoted quite cheerfully. But I object to being ripped off.

Natasha said...

@ Jessica - maybe it is a particular kind of vendor who does it- most interesting that.

@ Mason- he definitely did not realise he was talking to a maths nerd.

@ Alex - and that is exactly what I don't understand. Why bother to quote a discounted price for three?

@ Lydia- as did I. Wish I could send one to you virtually.

@ Margot- I somehow think it is the latter. And I hate being ripped off. Would have gladly paid full price if I had to.

@ Dipali- butta always is.

@ Jaycee- :-)

@ Yvonne - corn never hurt anyone!

@ Sherrie- wonder if anyone really fell for it?

@ LTM- if you want to borrow the scene, you are more than welcome to.

@ Clarissa- that sucks. How does you being a gringo have anything to do with it. Except, it does.

@ Southpaw- wonder if anyone falls for it.

@ Mary- grab a cob.

@ Tina- I bet she did! If she finds the logic, can she let me know?

@ Jemi- had he never quoted the discounted price, I would have bought four at the price he quoted quite cheerfully. But I object to being ripped off.

Patricia Stoltey said...

Drabbles make great blog posts, Rayna. This is such a good idea.

I went to a Farmer's Market on Sunday, and many of the local growers were on hand with tiny strawberries, leaf lettuce and spinach, and lot of other goodies. Even though it's not yet sweet corn season in Northern Colorado, one booth was serving corn on the cob cooked on a big grill. So good!

Natasha said...

@ Patricia - your Farmer's Market sounds almost divine. We have nothing similar here, unfortunately. Though, growing up we had a weekly 'haat' where the farmers would turn up and sell veggies.

Natasha said...
This comment has been removed by the author.

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