Where's George Really Been?
Joy Kicinski
Issue date: 4/2/09 Section: Opinion
While receiving my change from CVS, without even saying, "Have a great day," the cashier enthusiastically stated, "Make sure to enter those bills on wheresgeorge.com!" Not waiting for an explanation, I looked at her oddly before leaving the store. Having no idea what wheresgeorge.com was, I cured my curiosity by logging on when I got home. Waiting for my laptop to boot up, I examined each bill, trying to figure out how the site worked. I entered the site into the address bar, and an appropriate green background popped up!
After creating a username and password, I began exploring the site. The left hand toolbar navigates everything. I saw the "Enter a bill" link, and clicked it. After clicking it, I entered the serial number of the bill, year, and denomination. You then receive all the "hits" the bill has had since it was entered. Side note - most of the bills I entered were never received a hit before I entered them into the database.
After inputting the bills, you either rubber-stamp or write a notice on the bill, telling anyone who receives the bill to participate in the program by logging onto wheresgeorge.com. Some may say it is against the law to write on paper bills; many cashiers use this as an excuse to not accept money; however, that is not the case. According to U.S. law, the writing or marking cannot ruin the bill, making it "unfit to be re-issued" (Wheresgeorge FAQ 1). Obviously, you would not write over Mr. Washington's face, but maybe just in the margin on the bill.
By use of this site, one can track the city the bill was last in (and was entered) and connect with other "Georgians." There are even message boards available for everyone involved with Wheresgeorge.com; users can discuss tips; favorite bills; and funny stories - all connected to the marked bills. One forum allows users to vent when cashiers refuse to take their marked bills, and some stories were pretty humorous. I could imagine some of them occurring in stores I normally visit. By the numerous responses on various topics on these message boards just proves the popularity of wheresgeorge.
After creating a username and password, I began exploring the site. The left hand toolbar navigates everything. I saw the "Enter a bill" link, and clicked it. After clicking it, I entered the serial number of the bill, year, and denomination. You then receive all the "hits" the bill has had since it was entered. Side note - most of the bills I entered were never received a hit before I entered them into the database.
After inputting the bills, you either rubber-stamp or write a notice on the bill, telling anyone who receives the bill to participate in the program by logging onto wheresgeorge.com. Some may say it is against the law to write on paper bills; many cashiers use this as an excuse to not accept money; however, that is not the case. According to U.S. law, the writing or marking cannot ruin the bill, making it "unfit to be re-issued" (Wheresgeorge FAQ 1). Obviously, you would not write over Mr. Washington's face, but maybe just in the margin on the bill.
By use of this site, one can track the city the bill was last in (and was entered) and connect with other "Georgians." There are even message boards available for everyone involved with Wheresgeorge.com; users can discuss tips; favorite bills; and funny stories - all connected to the marked bills. One forum allows users to vent when cashiers refuse to take their marked bills, and some stories were pretty humorous. I could imagine some of them occurring in stores I normally visit. By the numerous responses on various topics on these message boards just proves the popularity of wheresgeorge.
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