According to
Dictionary.com, "wacky" may have originated as British slang in the late 1800s, possibly resulting from a whack or blow on the head, one too many times. From that initial blow to the head, other meanings have been applied to "wacky," meanings such as
preposterous, crazy, loony, absurd, or odd.
While attending school in North Carolina one summer, I took a study break to visit the locals. When I saw the above sign at a local ice cream parlor, I thought how enjoyable a banana-nut ice cream cone would be. And who could beat the price? So I pulled into a parking place, entered the ice cream parlor, ordered my cone, and gave her a quarter. As I stood awaiting my change, she looked at me as if
I were the wacky one.
Finally, I said, "Do you owe me some change? I gave you a quarter, and your sign states that on Monday nights, ice cream is three cents." To correct my ignorance, she took me to the window to show me the price. When I called her attention to the decimal in the 0.25₵, she became so confused by my basic math explanation that her ice cream was actually being advertised for about three cents on Mondays, she finally told me I could just have the cone "free."
Of course, I couldn't do that, and so I handed her the quarter and told her to keep the change. I started to tell her that I had given her a generous tip on a three-cent cone. In fact, I had actually given her a 10,000% tip! But at this point, she was tired of
wacky Monday; in her mind, she knew who the
real
wacko was! In a commanding voice, she interrupted me with, "Next."
Back to my basic premise, higher levels of learning can not be mastered unless our basic foundation is solid. Understanding fractions, decimals, and percentages is an essential component needed in real life.
Not knowing the value of our money is the true definition of
wacky,
whether as a
merchant
or a
consumer.
Check out how to build that strong foundation needed for higher levels of learning at
www.stepupwithann.com/subjects .
