Frazz by Jef Mallett for September 28, 2021

An actual factual reader will

— probably understand my reference, if they have children between the ages of about 35 and 45

— NEVER dog ear. break the back or otherwise deliberately damage a book.

— HARDLY EVER have an actual bookmark with them when they need it.

— Understand why someone would use the lace from one of their shoes in an emergency. Or a leaf. Or a gum wrapper (empty). Or, at least once, a particularly large and fine piece of finger nail.

So a dollar bill is… not improbable. Clever, even. Though I do think a banana skin is improbable: Too likely to damage the book.

Yea i can see how a librarian wouldn’t like that very much.

I found a $5 bill in one of those Gideon Bibles at a hotel when I was a kid. After that I’d always flip through the Yellow pages or Bibles as soon as I got into a room, but I don’t think hotels carry either of those books anymore.

Use your finger. You’ll have an incentive to finish the book.

Frazz could be on a slippery slope!

Most commonly I’m using a sales slip or a tissue (albeit not a used one).

When he used the banana peel, it was a definite mistake –

… he really slipped up on that one.

Not likely to happen in Canada.

Oh, I thought it was going to turn out to be a form of anonymous, small-scale charity.

My brother was executor for 90+ yr old man. When he passed he had to go through everything and get rid of it, sell it, recycle, etc. As him and his wife were going through old books, they started to find dollars, a few fives a couple 10s and 20s. They even found some 100s. That caused them to check every single book. There were a lot of books!

Ostentatious would be a Fifty Dollar bill.

S-o-o-o-o hit his head and forgot about the _buck_marks?

BANANA SKIN? screams I have difficulty imagining anything capable of causing more damage as a bookmark.

A neighbour makes custom bookmarks on thin multi-laminated hardwood with a fancy tassel. For $10 he will laser on whatever you like, such as a picture of your favorite author with their signature. I have Gilles Villeneuve for racing books, Billy Bishop for WWI titles, Rex Stout for mysteries, even Adolf Hitler for WWII.

I have used a dollar bill (or a $5 or $10) as a bookmark. I have a number of books with the money still in them.

I used to work in an elementary school library and I always flipped through returned books. I have found a GameStop gift card, a credit card, and a $50 bill. All were returned.

Loaned a novel to a teacher once in college, got it back with half a joint left as a bookmark. Hmmmm

Nowadays we get a slip of paper with the due date from the libraries around here, but they’re too similar to the BPA laden receipts for me to use them as bookmarks.

I don’t get it.

Real world banana peels make you trip not slip.