This guy was serious

[mikailborg]

"You guys charge by the word, right?"

"Yes sir."

"Okay, the ad reads: 1998 Framistan 300, 2001 Geezberg 197, 1972 Hoopyloc 180, and 1986 Felgercarb 200. $1000 for all. 540-555-1234."

"Okay, sir, that's 17 words."

"No, it's only seven words. The rest are numbers, so I get them for free."

"... what?"

Comments

[kittykatya.livejournal.com]

Perhaps you guys need to put a big sign: "Items like '27', '1970', and '#*&^$^!' count as words in totaling your price. Please do not try and nitpick with us about this." :\

[mikailborg.livejournal.com]

Not a bad idea - or a little 4x5 slip with "Guidelines and Rules" we could hand out.

[trenn.livejournal.com]

Or for the less technologically inclined:

"Every time we touch the space bar, it's a new "word"."

Oh well. Your nitpicking is about what a "word" is. Mine is about when an "hour" starts or ends. 9.9