Money Matters, and So Does Size

Yesterday a federal judge ruled that the Treasury Department is violating the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits government programs from discriminating against people with disabilities, by failing to print paper currency so that blind people can distinguish one denomination from another. The 1996 redesign included the addition of symbols that can be read by infrared scanners, but U.S. District Judge James Robertson said that's not good enough. "Of the more than 180 countries that issue paper currency," he noted, "only the United States prints bills that are identical in size and color in all their denominations." Different colors help people with limited vision, while different sizes help those who are completely blind. Other options include raised numbers, foil patches of various shapes, and perforations. Personally, I'd like to see light-activated talking money like they have on Futurama—fun for everyone, plus you don't have to buy a bigger wallet.