NOV 30 AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE (ATM) GIVES AWAY $100 BILLS

NOV 30  AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE (ATM) GIVES AWAY $100 BILLS

Bank of America customers in a North Houston suburb got an early holiday gift earlier this week. An ATM (Automated Teller Machine) mistakenly began to dispense one hundred dollar bills instead of tens. Anyhow, word spread quickly over social media and dozens of folks hurried to the rogue bank machine. Soon, Harris County Sheriff's deputies stepped in to guard from any more use until it could be fixed. Although BofA hasn't stated how much money was lost, they did announce yesterday that all those who received extra cash can keep it.

We know what question you must be asking: What kind of ATM gives ten dollar bills? Only recently have American ATM's dispersed anything other than twenties. Interestingly enough, although the coveted twenty is the most used bill in the US, it comes in third place as the most dispersed currency note worldwide. Atop that list is the 50 Euro note, followed by the 100 Yuan bill. The first ever note taken from an ATM was ten pounds from Barclay's in London in 1967.

As you might have guessed...there are a gazillion ATM's worldwide. Okay, actually, it's estimated there are three million such devices on the planet. If you do the math, that means there is one ATM for every three thousand people. (The highest density is in the gambler's paradise of Macao.) They're found in stores, bars and on street corners. Somewhere on earth's seven continents, a new ATM opens up every three minutes!

Seven continents? Yep...there are two ATM's in Antarctica. They're found at the McMurdo Station, the largest science base in the South Pole. It's operated by Well's Fargo and only dispenses American money. At any given time, there are around 1,000 people there conducting research. And they need cold, hard cash! Fortunately, it's located indoors...unlike the highest-altitude ATM on earth. It's found in a roadside stop near the Khunjerab Pass in Pakistan. It's at 15,397 feet and can withstand temperatures down to -40 degrees Celsius.

Back to the ATM in Houston. While the employee responsible for loading the wrong cassette into the machine must feel horrible, at least it wasn't as bad as a similar snafu last year in nearby Corpus Christi. A bank employee inadvertently locked himself inside the machine while servicing. And...here's the terrifying part...he left his cellphone in the truck. However, he did have a low tech item that saved him: A pen. He scribbled a note on a receipt. When a customer read it, he was saved. ATMs are wacky indeed!