The Bookless Club: How did you scramble some money together as a kid?
In the months ahead you're sure to see them.
Article content
Yes, it's time to prepare for the onslaught of fresh-faced darlings seated behind small, curb side tables. Their signage will read lemonade even though the drinks on offer may be Crystal Light or Kool-Aid. The pricing will vary between embarrassingly low — say, 10 cents for a cup — to shockingly high — a brash request for $4 for some watery fruit punch.
Even if you're not the slightest bit thirsty, you'll shrug and comply. The 10-cent drink, however, will garner a hefty tip.
Article content
Article content
There's something about warm weather that spawns a mercantile impulse in children.
I don't know what to attribute it to — maybe Facebook Marketplace, or Etsy — but of late, I'm encountering a different type of roadside commerce. And it's a far cry from the jug of juice and stack of cups.
Article content
Article content
You couldn't miss it. He'd clearly understood the three rules of real estate: Location, location, location. He'd set up near a traffic light so people had no choice but to stop. There was an alleyway beside him so cars could easily pull over. There was even a bus stop promising a steady stream of potential customers. Lots of options here.
Article content
I had to stop. Turns out he was selling rocks.
Article content
He had geodes, cave calcites, amethyst crystal clusters, lava, and more. He was, indeed, 10 and he was selling geological specimens. I asked him about a few of them. He had a surprising amount of information.
Article content
Article content
'How much is that one?' I asked, pointing at a pretty rock covered with sparkly druze crystals.
Article content
Article content
'$60,' came the reply.
Article content
I raised my eyebrows and cocked my head.
Article content
My daughter was riding her bike when she spied the tot and the table. Stopping for kids behind tables is a congenital defect in my family, so she stopped. The kidlet, maybe six or seven years old, was selling dahlia tubers. She explained that the tubers came from her aunt who lived up the Valley and that there were two colours to choose from.
Article content
My daughter chose the three pack of Chimacum Nadjae dahlias. They were advertised on their hand-labelled paper bag as being 'warm 4' coral blooms'. The price was $25. As she handed the freckle-faced vendor the cash she found herself wondering if she was getting fleeced by a preschooler.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Globe and Mail
U.S.-backed organization distributing aid in Gaza reopens two sites after delays
A U.S.- and Israeli-backed organization distributing aid in Gaza said on Thursday it was reopening two distribution sites a day after shutting them after a series of deadly shootings close to its operations. The U.S.-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said only two sites in southern Gaza's Rafah area would operate on Thursday, after all sites were closed the day before for maintenance. GHF had opened three sites earlier in the week, and one of Thursday's sites was in a new location, it said. The GHF, which has been fiercely criticized by humanitarian organizations including the United Nations for alleged lack of neutrality, began distributing aid last week. The UN has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave. Meanwhile, Israel announced it had recovered the bodies of two dual nationality Israeli-American hostages from Gaza. Gadi Hagi and his wife Judy Weinstein-Hagi were killed and taken to Gaza after Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Fifty-six hostages remain in captivity, with fewer than half believed to be alive. The Israeli military has intensified operations in Gaza since breaking a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in March, taking more territory with the government pushing to wipe out the Islamist militant group. Opinion: The RCMP investigation on the Gaza war shows Canada's approach to Israel could be changing At least 20 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza on Thursday, including four journalists in a hospital in the enclave's north, local health authorities said. The military said that it had targeted an Islamic Jihad militant who was operating a command-and-control centre. The Hamas-run government media office says that 225 journalists in Gaza have been killed since the war began. The renewed military campaign has further isolated Israel amid mounting international pressure. On Wednesday, a U.S. veto blocked a UN Security Council draft resolution, backed by the 14 other members, demanding an 'immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire' and full, unrestricted aid access to Gaza. Under global pressure, Israel allowed limited UN-led aid deliveries to resume on May 19. A week later, the relatively unknown GHF launched a new aid distribution system that bypasses traditional relief agencies. The GHF halted distributions on Wednesday and said it was pressing Israeli forces to improve civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its operations after dozens of Palestinians were shot dead near the Rafah site over three consecutive days this week. The Israeli military said on Sunday and Monday its soldiers had fired warning shots, while on Tuesday they also fired warning shots before firing towards Palestinians that it said were advancing towards troops. GHF has said that aid was safely handed out from its sites without any incident. The American organization, which uses private U.S. security and logistics companies to transport aid to its distribution points inside Gaza from where it is collected, has said that it has so far distributed at least seven million meals. The UN and international humanitarian groups refuse to work with the GHF because they say aid distribution is essentially controlled by Israel's military and forces the displacement of Palestinians by limiting distribution points to a few venues in central and southern Gaza. Footage released by the GHF this week showed hundreds of Palestinians crowding its site in Rafah, collecting aid from piles of stacked boxes without any clear system of distribution. Muslims around the world will begin celebrating Eid al Adha from Thursday, a holiday typically marked by slaughtering livestock, but in Gaza food is scarce after nearly two years of war and Israeli siege. Israeli opposition lawmaker Avigdor Lieberman accused the government on Thursday of arming Palestinian militias in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said later in a statement that Israel was acting 'in various ways' on the recommendation of the security establishment. Netanyahu's office did not deny Lieberman's accusation. Israeli media reported that Israel had transferred weapons to Yasser Abu Shabab, a leader of a large clan in the Rafah area, now under full Israeli army control. Abu Shabab previously said that he was building up a force to secure aid deliveries into some parts of Gaza. Hamas security officials told Reuters Abu Shabab was wanted for 'collaborating with the occupation against his people.' They said Hamas forces had killed at least two dozen of his men before January in what they said were clashes with looters of aid trucks. Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. On Wednesday, a Palestinian transport company contracted by UN agencies suspended operations indefinitely after an armed gang intercepted its aid trucks in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, killing one driver and injuring another.
Globe and Mail
24-05-2025
- Globe and Mail
Shiba Inu Is Down 84%. Should You Buy the Dip?
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) could not have performed better for investors a few years ago. From the start of 2021 to its all-time high in late October that year, this digital asset absolutely skyrocketed. There are surely some very lucky speculators who amassed life-changing wealth. However, it's been a different story since then. While the overall crypto market has held up well, despite the volatility, Shiba Inu has a lot of work to do to catch up to its former glory. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » As of May 20, this meme token trades at $0.00001428, which is 84% below its peak from about three and a half years ago. Is it time to buy the dip with Shiba Inu? I think investors should look at both sides of the argument to gain a more thorough understanding. Hoping for a quick profit As of this writing, Shiba Inu carries a market cap of $8.4 billion. This makes it the 16th largest cryptocurrency on Earth. This is a higher value than companies like Etsy and Peloton. As a result, it's hard to argue that Shiba Inu doesn't possess a strong community of supporters. These supporters, known as the "Shib Army," help to drive interest in the token online. Speculators understand that the community can lead to various hype cycles. And if the timing is correct, there's a chance to achieve huge profits in a short period of time. Shiba Inu can be viewed as a " Dogecoin killer." That's because it's built to be compatible with the Ethereum network. This means that Shiba Inu has greater functionality than its dog-themed predecessor. Tokens can be used in decentralized exchanges, to trade non-fungible tokens, or within decentralized finance protocols. In theory, this raises utility. What's more, Shiba Inu's developers are trying to increase adoption with various features. Shibarium, a layer-2 scaling solution, was introduced to speed up transactions and lower costs. A dedicated metaverse was also launched in December last year that allows users to interact in a virtual world. This might draw some excitement toward Shiba Inu. Adding unnecessary risk to your portfolio According to venture firm Electric Capital, Shiba Inu isn't even on the list of top 100 cryptocurrencies when it comes to the number of developers actively working on it. This doesn't bode well for its future, especially if you believe, like I do, that a cryptocurrency's ultimate viability comes down to how much real-world utility it can introduce. This puts Shiba Inu at a major disadvantage. The tokenomics also leave much to be desired. There are currently 589 trillion Shiba Inu tokens in circulation. That intentionally high supply base is the opposite setup of the scarcity Bitcoin possesses, for instance. This makes it all the more difficult for Shiba Inu's price to steadily rise over time. There is a coin-burning mechanism in place to reduce supply. On May 19, though, only 49 million coins were burned. That's not going to put a meaningful dent in the supply anytime soon, as it would take more than 16,000 years to burn half the outstanding supply. The fact that anyone can create a new token out of thin air poses a key risk for Shiba Inu, which is competition. The cryptocurrency industry remains the newest asset class out there. Consequently, it's still characterized by unhealthy amounts of speculation among market participants. There's no shortage of tokens to bet on in the hopes of getting rich quick. This increases the chances that people will move away from Shiba Inu one day onto the newly released shiny token. For long-term investors who want to own high-quality assets, there's really no reason to own Shiba Inu. The bear case for the meme token is much more compelling than the bullish argument. Even though the cryptocurrency is trading well off its peak, investors should avoid Shiba Inu. Should you invest $1,000 in Shiba Inu right now? Before you buy stock in Shiba Inu, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Shiba Inu wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $640,662!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $814,127!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is963% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to168%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025
CBC
18-05-2025
- CBC
Is Facebook Marketplace killing the yard sale in southwestern Ontario?
The classic summer yard sale is about to become a regular weekend event with treasure hunters eager to discuss whether online mega-platforms like Facebook Marketplace could see dwindling interest in the long-held tradition of bargaining over trinkets and cast-offs in a stranger's driveway. Christina Fournier has loved yard sales since she was a kid. Now she runs an online group where 24,000 people advertise their sales across southwestern Ontario. Spring is when sales start being posted, she said, and about a dozen sales have already been advertised for Victoria Day weekend. "Once you start smelling that spring in the air, that's when you get that yard sale feeling," Fournier said. In theory, Marketplace is a direct competitor to these events. It started in 2016 as a way to connect buyers and sellers through Facebook. Now, over 1.2 billion users buy something every month. One of the draws is that you don't have to wake up early on a weekend and trek around town to find second-hand goods. While Fournier admits the early wake-up isn't fun, she's said she's not worried about Marketplace leading to fewer yard sales. In fact, some savvy yard sale sellers are using the platform to give their event a boost, posting ads with the details, or even photos, of what they'll be selling, Fournier explained. "When you can post pictures, people are able to quickly check if this place has lots of vinyl records, or that place has lots of kids' toys," she said. "I feel like it's definitely helped yard sales be more successful" Then, there's the thrill of the hunt. It's a thrill anyone who has ever found something they charish on a table in a stranger's driveway will understand. "A lot of people get up in the morning saying, 'I'm just going to search for treasures. It's going to be awesome.'" For some, the face-to-face transactions at yard sales are just more straightforward and enjoyable. Janet Shaw organized the spring fundraising sale at St. Anne's Anglican Church in London earlier in May. She agrees that Marketplace isn't a major threat. "At yard sales, we find people are looking for really, really cheap stuff," she said. The community sale Shaw organized was a fundraising event. They kept prices low, because like most yard sales, it was a one-day event and they didn't want anything left behind. This approach sets them apart from platforms like Marketplace, she believes, where sellers might be less inclined to accept a low offer. The bigger competitor among online platforms might be the buy-nothing groups, Shaw said. These groups on social media allow users to advertise items they simply want to get rid of, as long as someone is willing to come and get it. Despite online buying and selling, London's yard sale scene is still going strong, with sales advertised around the region all the way through September. "Everybody likes a good deal and everybody likes to find things that you won't get by just going to Walmart, right?" If you're going to check out a sale or two this season, Fournier gave some advice: plan ahead by checking out online ads, bring small bills and change, and just enjoy "hunting to hunt."
