nationalpost:

Bank of Canada bans image of Asian woman from $100 bill
The Bank of Canada has purged an image of an Asian-looking woman from its new $100 banknotes after focus groups raised questions about her ethnicity.

The original image intended for the reverse of the plastic polymer banknotes, which began circulating last November, showed an Asian-looking woman scientist peering into a microscope. The image, alongside a bottle of insulin, was meant to celebrate Canada’s medical innovations.

But eight focus groups consulted about the proposed images for the new $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 banknote series were especially critical of the choice of an Asian for the largest denomination.

“Some have concerns that the researcher appears to be Asian,” says a 2009 report commissioned by the bank from The Strategic Counsel, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. (Peter J. Thompson/National Post)

And that matters because….?  What the hell is wrong with people.  

The remedy to this new crisis is not readily apparent: does anyone really want to pay a nickel for someone’s thoughts? That’s a 500% price increase in the price of thoughts! And, if we are to begin minding our nickels, can we be sure that the quarters will take care of themselves? This remains an unproven thesis.

nationalpost:

Canadian penny fell victim to changing times
The lowly penny, once an important unit of currency but long since reduced to providing little more than irritating pocket ballast and use in nursery-school rhymes, was declared officially redundant in the 2012 budget.

Aside from giving opposition members ample opportunity to criticize the Tory budget as “penny-wise, dollar-foolish,” the decision to eliminate the coins meant that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty could make a bedroom reference in his budget speech: “Pennies take up too much space on our dressers at home.” (Photo: Getty Images / Thinkstock)

Follow the link, there is some funny stuff in there.

Say goodbye to the Penny, Canada