If Only Columbus Had Arrived in 1491

I had a very interesting experience at a bank this afternoon.

There is a TD Bank branch near my house in Brooklyn, and they have a "Penny Arcade," a place where you can bring tons of loose change and exchange it for dollars. I had an incredible experience when I did it back in November 2004. I had a 40-ounce jar I was keeping pennies in for years. At the end of every day, I'd put those excess Lincoln coins into the jar and let it build up. And when it finally hit the top, I brought the jar over there.

As you pour your coins into the machine, it allows you to take a guess as to how many are in there. If you come within $1.99, you win a small prize. I looked at the coins and since the Red Sox had just won the World Series just a few weeks earlier, I guessed "1986." (I really don't know why that year popped into my head, the last time they didn't win.) I wound up winning, and I couldn't believe the actual number it was: "1,918."

If I had done this a month earlier, it would have freaked me out. Now, it just makes me laugh.

So after another 4 1/2 years, I went back. I had a new penny bank, which was a bit smaller than the other one. It looked like $15.00 worth, and when I got there, the number "1492" popped into my head, the year Columbus arrived in The New World. And I simply couldn't believe what number popped up: "1,491."

I missed by just one! I won a small prize, a new glasses case. (The other day I looked at my old one and thought I needed a new one.) I guess I have a future in predicting numbers or something now...