Are Minimum Purchases for Credit Cards Legal?

The other day I went to the hardware store and picked out $4.52 in merchandise. I went to pay with a Visa card and the following conversation occurred:

Clerk 1: "We have a $5 minimum purchase requirement for credit cards."

Me: "Oh... I don't think that's legal."

Clerk 2 to Clerk 1: "Just run it through."

Even though I technically "won" the argument, I instantly realized that I had NO idea if what I said was true! So I decided to look it up. :)

Here's what the CreditInfocenter had to say about it:

[Is it valid for a merchant to impose a minimum purchase?]

Never for Visa and MasterCard; generally not for American Express. Discover explicitly allows the merchant to set a minimum purchase amount, according to email received by the previous editor.

MC and Visa rules provide that a merchant may not require any minimum purchase amount. This is the merchant's agreement with Visa or MasterCard; it is not a Federal law.

According to Bankcard Holders of America, if a merchant takes American Express and also Visa or MC, Amex doesn't let the merchant impose a minimum purchase on Amex users because that would discriminate against them. Merchants who take Amex but neither Visa nor MC may impose minimum charges but Amex officially discourages the practice.

So in the above scenario I was right! Good thing I didn't try to pull that with my Discover Card!

What Is A "Yankee Doodle Dandy"?

I think most of us are familiar with the song "Yankee Doodle". Have you ever been confused by the following lyrics?

Yankee Doodle went to town,

A'riding on a pony,

Stuck a feather in his cap

And called it macaroni.

Some definitions might help:

Yankee: 18th century term for a United States native

Doodle: 17th century slang for a "fool"

Macaroni: 18th century term for vanity or obsession with one's appearance

It's kind of odd actually that it became a popular patriotic song here because it's likely that it was originally sung by Britons making fun of Americans during the French and Indian War! This verse is basically saying, "These American fools think that by sticking a feather in their cap, they are being fashionable!"

Maybe it would have been better to have just believed that Mr. Doodle called his hat a tubed piece of pasta! :)

Bombs & Bikinis

Who would have thought that the "bikini" could have been named so because of the atomic bomb?

The modern two-piece swimsuit, invented by Louis Réard in 1947, was named after Bikini Atoll, an island in the Pacific that was being used to test an atomic bomb in 1946.

Réard wanted to make the connection: he compared the "burst" of excitement that would come from the new swimwear option to that of the bomb. (He clearly left the devastating after-effects of the nuclear weapon out of the advertisements!)

Also, conveniently for the metaphor, another French designer, Jacques Heim (a competitor of Réard's), had invented a small women's bathing suit called the "Atome" (since it was "so tiny"). Since Réard's bikini was basically a two-piece version of Heim's design, he said that he "split the Atome", much like the atomic bomb splits atoms.

Wow. Part clever and part crazy!

Dreams of Hidden Rooms

I have many reoccurring dreams, and I can usually figure out what they mean after a little thought, but one has baffled me for a while.

Why do I dream that I find hidden rooms in my house?

A couple of websites offer these interpretations:

1. The hidden room may be a part of yourself that you keep hidden from others; a part of yourself that you will not allow anyone to "go to", and which you only allow yourself to "peek" at. (source)

2. Discovering hidden rooms means that your subconscious is getting you ready for surprises in your life - new interests, goals, potential ventures, and/or unexpected possibilities, and whole unexplored parts of yourself that you never knew existed. (source)

(it's hard to find much online, since many dream dictionaries are incomplete or opinion-based)

As my mom always says, you're the best interpreter of your own dreams. So what do I think is happening?

Typically, when I find a hidden room in my dream, there's a sense of relief like I needed the extra room for some reason. Therefore, it may have to do with discovering myself or preparing for new things in my life, and being excited about those possibilities. Or maybe it could just mean I want a little more space to put stuff. :)

For more resources on dream interpretation, check out these highly-rated books:

The Complete Dream Book: Discover What Your Dreams Reveal about You and Your Life by Gillian Holloway
(This one has a section on secret rooms!)

The Dream Book: Symbols For Self-Understanding by Betty Bethards

I Had The Strangest Dream... The Dreamer's Dictionary For The 21st Century by Kelly Sullivan Walden

Best of luck and happy dreaming!

In A Roundabout Way

How do you feel about roundabouts?

Maybe you feel like they are confusing and dangerous? Maybe you think they are a waste of space? Maybe you can relate to Clark Griswold in National Lampoon's European Vacation every time you enter one?

Personally, I am a big fan. I love anything that prevents me from having to wait at red lights or for green arrows. I don't like stopping in general.

Wonder why they are springing up all over the place lately?

Well, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

"Where roundabouts have been installed, motor vehicle crashes have declined by about 40 percent, and those involving injuries have been reduced by about 80 percent. Crash reductions are accompanied by significant improvements in traffic flow, thus reducing vehicle delays, fuel consumption, and air pollution."

(click here for their reasoning)

Those are all good things! Go roundabouts!