Brain Teaser

Sometimes at the beginning of class, I give my students brain teasers. They really enjoy them and it's a great way to get their brains working, especially in the first 2 classes of the day. Today I gave my 8th graders the following question:

Why are 2007 pennies worth more than 2006 pennies?

Several students wrote something about the price of copper (what middle school student follows the price of copper over the years?!), a few had no idea, and several figured it out--if you have 2007 pennies, you have one more than if you had 2006 pennies, so you're 1 cent richer. But really, that's not the point here.

The best answer:

Because Barack Obama is on them!

What?! Seriously? Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln look an awful lot alike. And what year did Obama become president? I almost died laughing...and luckily the kid thought it was really funny too so I didn't have to feel bad laughing.

Reason #1437 why I love my job.