Then again, the Chinese in general make Americans look like they are moving in slow motion whenever performing repetative tasks. Our airlines need to send their flight attendants to train in China, because the flight attendants in China make the flight attendants on US airlines look pathetic.

I have no idea.

My theories were:
-how dirty the money was
-how old the money was
-they wanted you to see and count it with them
-the physical size of the money ie dimension in the hand
-how many notes make up a useful amount of money to buy something
-whether they thought you were slipping a dud, recalled or counterfeit note in
-culture

As an aside: I always collected the cheapest paper note I could from each country I went to for keepssakes. I ended up with so many that I created some montages for my house. The bestest, pridest superest note of place right in the center of the thing?

Of course Goofy on the 5 dollar note from Disneyworld

Also, In soviet russia, money counts you. It had to be said.

Unless the shop is so behind the times not to have a automatic card reader, I can swipe my card and enter my pin way (WAY) before you can untie the knot on your little cash stash bag and fish around for that nickel and three pennies because we all know you cash freaks would hate to speed things up and just pay with a twenty and get change back.

I’ve seen people count money this fast in China: YouTube clip (accurately too!)

I count my credit card thusly…

ONE.

//and yes, it’s paid off in full each month (so yeah for bonus miles and nay to interest).

I’ll put a boot in your cash, it’s the American way!

“One…”

is normally about as far as I get before I finish.

Of course when I’m a rich and powerful international dictator, I’ll have my millions in solid platinum money clips with dragons’ heads that breathe fire. And shoot lasers. And automatically count the money for me.

i dont understand it, maby its beacuse of the different size of the notes, as they mostly have different length and width dimentions – and so fit differently into the hand. or perhaps its just a culture thing.

Debit and credit cards are widely used in Finland, so I really haven’t used much cash at all in the last few years. It’s very difficult to find a place in (southern) Finland where a debit card isn’t accepted. We also don’t have the US tipping culture here, so there’s really no need to carry cash with you. Well, maybe coins for vending machines, but that’s about it.

So, it’s a dying craft over here!

Some of the methods seem designed to keep others from seeing how much money you have, some don’t seem to care that much, and Turkey seems specifically designed to allow multiple people to count to verify the transaction all around.

Obscured: Far east, middle east, africa
Semi obscured: eastern europe/western asia,
Unconcealed: Arabia, English-speaking.
Blatantly Open: Turkey

I wonder, if anything, what that says about the treatment of money in those cultures.

Here in Brazil we count money like you americans… Sometimes like in Pakistan!! ehheheeheh
But only when you`re really desorganized!!!