Do Your $20 Bills Explode In the Microwave?

msaulters writes "After repeatedly setting off RFID scanners in a truck stop, the author discovered the culprit was a wad of $20's in his back pocket. In a paranoid attempt to keep the government from tracking him, he attempted to fry the embedded chips in his microwave, with interesting results." Alex Jones has interesting theories about a number of things, but evidently a lot of readers were interested in this one.

'Quotes'

[zedmelon (583487)]

The part of the 'article' that should probably be 'most' ignored is Denise's 'compulsory' use of 'punctuation.'

And GEEZ. I remember being 12 and having a twenty burn a hole in my pocket, but...

*smacks forehead* Sorry.

They've gotten to my eggs too

[H4x0r Jim Duggan (757476)]

hey, I just put some eggs in the microwave and they exploded - damn chickens have started putting RFID tags in their eggs already!

Re:They've gotten to my eggs too

[whereiswaldo (459052)]

Ha! You should see what happened when I put my /tinfoil hat/ in the microwave!

Re:Haha

[Micro$will (592938)]

As my EM prof put it - putting tin-foil into your microwave turns it into a spark plug, and god help you if the sparks strike any explosive elements.

Thank goodness you posted that. I've been storing gasoline in my microwave for years thinking it was safe.

F.Y.I. The worst you could do to a microwave by putting metal inside is break the magnatron, and when it breaks, it will just die, not explode or any cool shit like that. This urban legend was debunked like last season. [discovery.com] I can't even find the listing for it anymore.

Just look at it!

[NotAnotherReboot (262125)]

I always knew Andrew Jackson was giving me the evil eye.

Not the evil eye...

[Art Tatum (6890)]

He's flirting with you.

Idiot.

[Daleks (226923)]

This person isn't very smart. Why didn't he try it on one $20 bill to start with rather than all of them?

Re:Idiot.

[enosys (705759)]

There could be a simple explanation for that. If you microwave a single bill heat is still produced but it's easy for it to get out. If you stick a bunch togeather and microwave that more or less the same amount of heat is produced per bill meaning a lot more heat, and paper is a good insulator, so the middle gets really hot and starts burning. Note how the amount of burning seems to have a progression from large to small.

I'm skeptical.

[Robotech_Master (14247)]

First off, having worked at a Kmart for several years, I have a pretty good idea how the antitheft systems currently in place in most stores and libraries work, and they don't yet use RFID tags; they use some sort of magnetized strip that is then demagnetized by a magnetic pulse or a powerful magnet at the counter (thus the warning not to set credit cards on or near the demagnetizers, lest they be demagnetized too). In fact, RFID tags as the retailers are thinking of using them are partially intended to replace such a system (and partially to replace bar code scanners). Given that RFID tags are barely even starting to be used by distributors, you're not going to convince me that a truck stop of all places is at the head of the technology curve using this expensive equipment that almost no manufacturers even support anyway. Thus, even if an RFID tag was embedded in the money, that shouldn't set off a magnetic antitheft system at all, because the system is looking for something entirely different altogether.

Second, these magnetic antitheft systems are capable of being set off by odd things, such as items of personal electronics or odd bits of metal. (Heck, I even remember seeing one recent news story about a kid who sets off those scanners just by walking through them without anything in his pockets at all, just because his body happens to generate the precise frequency of electromagnetic energy they're keyed to.)

Third, RFID tag or not, those new bills do happen to have a strip of metal foil running through them, right at about the point of Jefferson's left eye...to make counterfeiting harder, you see. And when you subject metallic material to microwave energy, it heats up quickly...that's just basic physics.

So I'm willing to believe that the bills set off ordinary electromagnetic anti-theft detectors just by reflecting the microwaves in some funky way. (Or heck, maybe they even are magnetized in a way that anti-theft detectors can pick up...or at least can become so magnetized, since I doubt that they're all that way...if everybody shopping with new twenties was setting off anti-theft systems, we'd be hearing about that on the news, and the anti-theft system manufacturers would be making hasty adjustments or going out of business.) I'm even willing to believe that those foil strips will cause the money to scorch in the microwave. But it's one heck of a leap to conclude that this is because of Evil RFID Tags That The Nasty Gum'mint Is Sneaking Into Our Money.

Re:I'm skeptical.

[Dun Malg (230075)]

those new bills do happen to have a strip of metal foil running through them, right at about the point of Jefferson's left eye

Jackson. Jefferson is on the two dollar bill.

Re:I'm skeptical.

[ruprechtjones (545762)]

Yeah right, there's no such thing as a two dollar bill. Taco Bell [digiserve.com] helped disprove this silly statement of yours.

Re:I'm skeptical.

[Robotech_Master (14247)]

A couple more quick points I just thought of:

1) Even if the money was designed to set off anti-theft systems (which would be dumb, for the reason I parenthetically enumerated above) it could only deliver one bit of data: on or off, yes or no, it was or was not tagged with a theft prevention device.

2) Even being able to track money at all is not new. [wheresgeorge.com] Why d'ya think mobsters need to launder it?

Re:I'm skeptical.

[wronskyMan (676763)]

just because his body happens to generate the precise frequency of electromagnetic energy they're keyed to.
Actually, the tags work passively (not requiring onboard battery) because inductors and capacitors can be printed on foil/similar materials, so a LC (or RLC) circuit can be designed to resonate at whatever frequency the antitheft system uses. When this resonant circuit passes between the detection gates (a receiver and transmitter), it resonates, causing a change in the received signal intensity at the gate (the circuit is now picking up energy originally flowing to the transmitter). Small electronics could set it off if some random connected inductor and capacitor on the circuit board form a resonant circuit - clothes or someones body could conceivably do this as well. The magnetic pulse in the store either permanently breaks the circuit (used in stores, etc) or bends a foil-type contact open (used in libraries so they can bend the contact shut again to activate the tag when the book is returned).

Re:I'm skeptical.

[by Anonymous Coward]

First off, having worked at a Kmart for several years, I have a pretty good idea how the antitheft systems currently in place in most stores and libraries work, and they don't yet use RFID tags;

First time working at Kmart has qualified anyone for anything....

Re:I'm skeptical.

[ffattizzi (516177)]

I used to set off these anti theft systems in some stores, but not every store. Couldn't figure out what was going on. Finally at one store, an employee told me it was my wallet. I had bought a new wallet about 9 months before, but never thought it was the cause because I left the store I bought it at without setting off the alarm. He deactivated my wallet and I've never had this happen again.

My guess is this guy had the same problem, but because of a bit of paranoia, he blamed his cash. Microwave money long enough and I bet it starts to burn near the center. And if you have a stack of them, I bet you might get a little explosion like they wrote about.

I think he needs to loosen his tin foil hat, it's starting to cut off circulation.

Re:I'm skeptical.

[demonbug (309515)]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that all US bills had a metal strip embedded in them somewhere.

I'd be happy to help check this out. I think the easiest way would be for everyone to send me whatever bills they happen to have. I'll carefully check them out, inspecting them for any metal strips. To ensure that whatever bills I receive are in fact legal tender, I will then proceed to the nearest Best Buy or Fry's to see whether these fine institutions accept them as such.

I know, it sounds like it will be a lot of work, but its the least I can do to furhter the knowledge of teh Slashdot crowd.

No. They don't.

[Verteiron (224042)]

From the article:
So we chose to 'microwave' our cash, over $1000 in twenties in a stack, not spread out on a carasoul.

Now, looking at the second picture, and knowing a bit about how microwaves heat stuff... looks to me like the approximate center of the stack charred up nicely in the microwave. Notice the bills near the top and bottom of the stack are nearly untouched. The reason the center of the bills charred in the same place in all the bill is because it was the center of the stack.

I sincerely hope this article is intended as a joke, or at the very least "we did something really dumb and we're going to at least make it funny" situation.

And for the record, I just zapped a $20 bill for 20 seconds and it's barely even warm, on Jackson's right eye or anywhere else.

Re:No. They don't.

[the_Upsetter (257937)]

And for the record, I just zapped a $20 bill for 20 seconds and it's barely even warm, on Jackson's right eye or anywhere else

Well, I can't fault your methods, you've got every base covered. It would appear that you've conclusively proven this experiment to be a hoax!

Another peer-review success story.

Re:No. They don't.

[cnkeller (181482)]

And for the record, I just zapped a $20 bill for 20 seconds and it's barely even warm, on Jackson's right eye or anywhere else.

You expect us to take you seriously when you don't even know the basic recipe for heating a $20?

Quack.

Hey everyone....

[by Anonymous Coward]

I'm broke. I just burned up $1K in the microwave, now please COME SLASHDOT MY SERVER AND MAKE MY HOST COMPANY CHARGE ME EXTRA FOR THE MONTH. ;)

Boy, when it rains, it pours.

Gee, where's the logical problem here?

[by Anonymous Coward]

$20 bills burn in a microwave.
Ergo, $20 bills have embedded RFID tracking chips.

More likely, the metallic anti-counterfeting strips just formed a dipole resonant near the frequency used by the truck stop's anti-theft tag scanners.

Move along, nothing to see here, just some idiot with more money than brains.

Re:That's solid logic...

[LMCBoy (185365)]

Now look here, my good chap.... [quinion.com]

Amazing thing, this Google. I just did 'British slang "fair cop" ' and hit "I'm feeling Lucky!" (because I was), and there you have it. Fair cop, eh wot?

It'll be a shame when SCO sues Google out of business...

One Liner

[Entropy248 (588290)]

The Department of Homeland Security would like to remind you that you love Big Brother.

Conspiracy theorists unite...

[Drakonite (523948)]

So THIS is why conspiracy theorists never seem to have money.

Mirror...

[Megaslow (694447)]

...AKA karma whoring for fun and profit

Mirror w/ pictures [cox.net]

According to NetCraft [netcraft.com], Alex Jones' site is hosted at EV1Servers.net... I wonder if the sum total of the ruined money is $700? I guess it would save a lot of time to just burn the money rather than give it to SCO, yet you would still have the same end result: out $700, and nothing much to show for it.

Convert your tin foil hat to a wallet? Not yet...

[LostCluster (625375)]

Nothing like a Slashdot post to jump to a conclusion.

Clearly, there's something funny going on with the microwaved bills... but stores don't have RFID scanners at the exits yet. They have an acousto-magnetic [phonelosers.org] sensor that gets deactivated by a pad at the cash register so that paying customers aren't supposed to set them off. Big difference here is that the tags in a store system don't yet emit an identifying signal... they all emit the same reply. The store doesn't know what a shoplifter did to trip the alarm, just that they did trip it. There's not quite proof that each bill is emitting its serial number yet.

Also, having microwaved everything in a stack makes things a bit unclear. Did every eye burn on its own, or did just one or two bills in the middle of the stack catch flame which in turn burned all of the bills above and below in varying degrees. Notice that the top and bottom bills were unharmed. Could one bill alone be microwaved safely?

And, BTW, if you so much as put slightly crumpled tin foil in your microwave, you get a similar effect. Could there just be a small metal content in the bill designed so that somebody who has $1000 worth of $20 bills (rather than simply 10 $100's) in their wallet is sure to set off an airport security alarm until they show their wallet to make sure they get an extra security questions?

It's interesting, but I think more research needs to be done. Microwave carefully, people.

No money lost

[SuperBanana (662181)]

They may have exploded, but they're still valid currency. The treasury has an entire department which is solely for processing damaged money. I remember seeing an interview with one of the inspectors. I believe the essential part of it was that you had to have more than the majority of the bill material in OK condition to prove that you didn't just cut it up and try to claim all the pieces.

Since the bills are intact all the way around and it looks like in many cases the serials are OK, I'd say he's OK, and can get them exchanged for non-exploded ones. Of course, he better not go saying he microwaved them, as destruction of currency is a federal crime(the penny-mangling machines are 'licensed' to do it, to nip one question in the bud...)

What is interesting is that they burned so readily- US currency is supposed to be decently non-flammable(it's one of thousands of tests done on the paper and ink- that's why your bills make it through the laundry OK, for example). It's probably the toughest paper in the world, able to survive virtually anything. Except microwaving, apparently :-)

The actual law on mutilation

[C10H14N2 (640033)]

Note the use of the words FRAUDULENTLY and REISSUED, that is to say, the treasury will not be able to replace the bill. Slightly fscking up the currency is not likely to be sufficient to land you in federal-pound-me-in-the-ass prison unless by some monumental feat of idiocy you were trying to mutilate a $20 into something passing as a $100 as when people try to turn $20 into $60 by cutting off the corners and taping them to $1s. THAT is the kind of "mutilation" the law speaks of. Flattening a penny is not illegal. Melting it into something resembling a quarter, on the other hand, is quite definitely illegal.

US Code Title 18, Part I, Chapter 17

Section 331
Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the mints of the United States, or any foreign coins which are by law made current or are in actual use or circulation as money within the United States; or

Whoever fraudulently possesses, passes, utters, publishes, or sells, or attempts to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or brings into the United States, any such coin, knowing the same to be altered, defaced, mutilated, impaired, diminished, falsified, scaled, or lightened -

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both

Section 333

Whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or perforates, or unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, or Federal Reserve bank, or the Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

two words

[swschrad (312009)]

metallic ink. same thing will happen if you microwave checks, I expect, around the numbers, which are printed in magnetic MIRC ink.

Way to find the the microwave's focal point, Mr. J

[sailracer6 (262434)]

Get yourself some thermal fax paper and put it in the microwave for a few seconds. The parts hit most strongly will turn brown. I am fairly certain the same thing is happening here, although one shoud just try it with a $20-bill shaped piece of paper to be sure. Microwaves are far from uniform in their energy output -- that's why the carousel has become so ubiquitous.

Now, you should go look at Alex Jones' apparent infiltration of Bohemian Grove [infowars.com], an annual meeting of powerful people -- now that's intriguing.

Hmm.

[Phroggy (441)]

What we resent is the fact that the government or a corporation can track our 'cash'. Credit purchases and check purchases have been tracked for years, but cash was not traceble until now...

I'd just like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that there have always been serial numbers printed on bills, for the purpose of tracking them. An RFID tag would make it easier to do so electronically, but being able to uniquely identify a particular bill is nothing new - in fact, see Where's George? [wheresgeorge.com]

Having said that, the possibility that someone could scan the contents of my wallet while my wallet is in my pocket is rather disturbing for a number of reasons. If I were carrying $1,000 in twenties, I wouldn't want to advertise that fact to those around me.

groan...

[SmokeSerpent (106200)]

1. Maybe it was the wallet which had a hidden rfid, not the money. This possibility was not even broached.
2. Aside from any exploding rfid tags, and aside from the fact that the money was microwaved in a stack, all twentys would likely burn in the same pattern when microwaved simply due to their identical ink distribution.
3. Is this the Art Bell show now? Can we expect an interview with Hoagland tomorrow?

*Dons tinfoil wallet

[ChiaKemp (713567)]

Forget the tinfoil hats, now I need a new wallet.

Not a real surprise

[Lord Kano (13027)]

That little strip inside of the bills appears to be aluminized mylar. We all know what happens when you put aluminum foil into a microwave oven.

I made that mistake once, about 20 years ago. My mother gave me a Wendy's Kid's Meal, I didn't eat it right away. Later, I wanted to warm it up so I put into the microwave. I didn't open the box, and I forgot that they wrapped the burgers in a foil type wrapper. It was like fireworks. Bright flashed of blue-white light were coming out of the Kid's Meal box.

I nearly soiled myself out of fear. In those days they led you to believe that if you put metal in a microwave it would be like the Ghostbusters crossing the streams of their proton packs.

LK

Burning towels in the microwave

[menscher (597856)]

One morning, several years ago, I woke up with a stiff neck. It occurred to me that putting something warm on it would help. I lived in a dorm room, and had little around, other than a small microwave. So I grabbed a dry towel and put it in. Now, we all know that microwaves heat up the water in a substance. And the towel was dry. So I figured 30 seconds would just about do it. When I opened the microwave 30 seconds later, I was stabbed in the eye by a cloud of black smoke. Immediately threw the towel, with hole burned through it, into the sink.

Moral of the story: don't put a wad of cash into the microwave.

You've got to question the source

[kamapuaa (555446)]

I hate to question the facts based on the source, but this is like linking to an Omni article about the discovery of alien civilizations on Mars - it's such an unrelible source, that it's not really worth paying attention to their outlandish claims.

Looking around the website, one can find this choice quote by Alex Jones:

AJ: And that also happened- where you aware the New York Times and Chicago Tribune reported this in '93, the FBI cooked the bomb and trained the driver[s] and had an Egyptian security agent doing it for them, had two retarded Muslims, literally retarded, drive the truck and park it, let the bombing go forward. At Oklahoma City, the same company that destroyed the remnants of the World Trade Center, blew up the remnants of Oklahoma City [and] had that buried under machine gun guard at a private landfill to this day. And they hauled the rubble away from the W T C to China! They wouldn't let you take photographs. Yes, exactly.

what?!

[ack154 (591432)]

I think we're overlooking one very important question here...

Why the hell was someone carrying around $1000, mostly in 20s, in their wallet?

Maybe I'm the only one that doesn't get that part...

no dice

[Catskul (323619)]

I tried it... it didnt work.

Re:The most cursory inspection

[anotherone (132088)]

Has anyone tried a control experiment of plain inkjet paper in the same form factor?

What, are you kidding? And ruin a perfectly good crazy conspiracy theory?

Re:illegal?

[SeinJunkie (751833)]

No, that's a myth.
The only thing that would be against the law is defacing currency and attempting to use it in commerce. So we learned in Business Law.

Re:illegal?

[by Anonymous Coward]

Why should it be illegal?

A $20 bank note is your receipt for lending $20 to the government with no interest.

If you'd like to lend $20 to the government and then not claim it back later, I'm sure that the government will be very happy.

Re:illegal?

[Mastadex (576985)]

Once you aquire the money by legal means, it becomes yours so you can do to it as you please.

I once worked at a cutlery corporation where they demonstrated scissors by cutting up coins. and they told us its legal, so if the company gets fried for that, not my fault.

Re:illegal?

[Texas Rose on Lava L (712928)]

In this case, it's a $20 fine per bill destroyed. Unlike most crimes, there's no need for police, judges, etc. to enforce this.

Re:illegal?

[LostCluster (625375)]

In fact, there's an address in Washington D.C. to which you could send the remains of destroied bills and they'll do their best to piece things together and redeem the value of the pile... yep, it really exists. [ustreas.gov]

Re:illegal?

[nastyphil (111738)]

How was he supposed to know the money would start burning?

Maybe because he put it in an oven..?

What pennies are really made out of...

[Phoenixhunter (588958)]

The history and composition of pennies! [hypertextbook.com]

Re:Who the fuckity fuck

[rholliday (754515)]

$1000 in cash? At a truck stop? Worried about government tracking?

Sounds like smugglers to me. :)

Re:Who the fuckity fuck

[jasonditz (597385)]

Here in MI if you have that kind of cash on a state highway the state police can seize it and hold it until you prove it wasn't being used in a drug transaction.

Re:Who the fuckity fuck

[tdwebste (747947)]

Actually, $1000 in cash is not all that much for a trucker to carry.

Remember most long distance truckers are on the road for a week at a time. This includes tolls, fuel, food, etc. I did a rough calculation a trip from Ontario to New York and back cost about $500 out of pocket. And lots of truckers transport fruit from California.

More conspiracy images on currency

[Sabu mark (205793)]

There's an even easier way to see the twin towers hidden in U.S. currency. Take two $20 bills. Hold one in each hand so the long sides are oriented vertically. Bring your hands together. Notice that the bills look like two identical skyscrapers right next to each other!!! Clearly this proves the US government had prior knowledge. Why, I'll bet it was actually Dick Cheney at the controls of both airplanes. He wanted Halliburton to seize the Iraqi oil fields.

What's the matter? That's a hell of a lot better than the Slashdot story that actually got accepted!