With apologies to Ben Franklin, do you know if you’re saving money by picking up that penny on the sidewalk?  According to an article in the March 31, 2008, New Yorker by David Owen, many people just don’t bother to even slow down.  By his calculation “Breaking stride to pick up a penny, if it takes more than 6.15 seconds, pays less than the federal minimum wage.” 

Read the full article “Penny Dreadful” at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/03/31/080331fa_fact_owen/?yrail