Yes, Bill. Although I live (and shop) in WA where the tax rate is around 8% (part of that is county and city taxes which vary from local jurisdiction to jurisdiction--something like anywhere from 7.6 to 8.2. Perhaps Dave Laird can quote chapter and verse. :-) On top of that, there are some items that are not taxed at all.
So, while the x.x5's and the x.x9's may make a difference, in the end, it's really just about a crap shoot (for those "sensitive persons," the term "crap shoot" refers to a gambling game--not a bodily function) since what the tax adds on could end in any number from 0-9. There might be some ways of discovering a different probability than the 1/100 I quoted, but for all practical purposes (like comparing to election results that come in a power of 10), I think my original analysis still holds. In other words, I agree that it isn't quite random. But it's close enough for what I was doing. Lowell C. Savage It's the freedom, stupid! Gun control: tyrants' tool, fools' folly. > > Think of it this way. How often does a grocery bill work out to an even > > dollar amount? I.e. you finish checking out and the clerk says "That'll > be > > Fourteen dollars, even?" (Can you tell I'm single? :-) What are the > chances? > > Well, approximately 1 in 100. > > Actually, it may be higher depending on the tax rate. Most prices end in > a 5 or a 9, though I can't say what the distribution between the 5s and > 9s is. That would be important to factor in. The higher the number of > 5s, the higher the probability of it rounding to an even dollar (1 in > 20?). If the tax rate is 5%, then you increase the odds with regard to > 9s (9*5=45). _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
