December 08, 2005

Parking Wager

I thought about this the other evening when we were out returning a few mispurchased/defective gifts. Here's the bet: You give me $75 and go away for awhile and then come back. If you win, you get $77, if you lose, you get nothing. The odds of you winning get smaller the longer you stay away. If you come back in 5 minutes, you're probably 99.9% certain to win, but stay away for a couple of hours and the odds drop quickly.

This is essentially the wager (restated a little weirdly) that you make when you park at a meter and don't pay. I started wondering: how big would the fine have to be before you wouldn't park for five minutes without paying? This probably varies from person to person. What's your number?

Posted by Brent Marykuca at December 8, 2005 08:36 PM