Norwegian Mistakenly Burns Cash for Heat

Kansas City Star ^ | November 11, 2004 | AP

[ChuckShick]

Posted on Thu, Nov. 11, 2004

Associated Press

OSLO, Norway - A Norwegian who felt a bit chilly after a night on the town and decided to stoke his fireplace didn't really have money to burn. It just turned out that way.

What he realized too late was that the paper he used to start the blaze was a stack of bills, worth about 15,000 kroner (US$2,400; euro1,830), the regional newspaper Avisa Nordland reported Thursday.

"I came home late at night after a party, and wanted a beer before I went to bed," he told the newspaper. "It was cold in the living room, but there was a glow in the wood stove."

So the man, identified only as being his 50s, grabbed a handful of paper next to the stove and tossed it in.

"I discovered too late that the envelope of money had fallen onto the floor with the kindling paper," he said. He said the cash had been payment for an artwork he had sold earlier in the day.

Had there been anything left of the bills, he might have been able to exchange some of it for undamaged bills at the state Bank of Norway, but the wood stove was too efficient.

The man, who lives on the Arctic Lofoten Islands of northwestern Norway, told the newspaper his tale of woe on the condition that it did not publish his name.

[ChuckShick]

Too funny.

[Josh in PA]

Sounds like what John and Teresa are going to be doing.

[Dallas59]

[A Real Dan Fan... NOT]

A fool and his money...

[PianoMan]

It's a socialist country...what does he care about money...

[keysguy]

It takes an entire bottle of Capt. Morgan spiced Rum to get that drunk in the Keys I don't know about NOrway.

[AmericanChef]

-"I came home late at night after a party, and wanted a beer before I went to bed..."-

...because I'd been drinking all night as it was, and said, "oh, what the hell?", so I gathered the first wad of starter paper I could find, which was a stack of bills, but I was too drunk to care, and lit that baby on fire, but now I'm sad.

[flying Elvis]

Given the price of oil, burning cash may be cheaper.

[Auntie Toots]

Good God, another Ole Norwegian joke to put up with.

[martin_fierro]

"I discovered too late that the envelope of money had fallen onto the floor with the kindling paper," he said. He said the cash had been payment for an artwork he had sold earlier in the day.
Had there been anything left of the bills, he might have been able to exchange some of it for undamaged bills at the state Bank of Norway, but the wood stove was too efficient.
The man, who lives on the Arctic Lofoten Islands of northwestern Norway

He did it with no one to Eggum on.