Day: November 1, 2017

The price of things

by dougpete, posted in Computers, Education, Mathematics

Growing up, my life’s goal was to own a 1967 Shelby Ford Mustang.  I don’t really know why except that it was the coolest looking thing on four wheels.  There were a couple of things that stopped me; I was way too young to have a driver’s license and I didn’t have the roughly $5000 to buy it.

$5000?

Yep.  Today, the entry level Mustang starts at $28,888 on the Ford Canada website.  What a difference!

I got thinking about this after reading this article from the Toronto Star – Toronto then and now: By the numbers.

In the article, there are some pricey reminders of how inexpensive things were in the good ol’ days!  The Star even pokes itself.

Price of The Evening Star, 1892: 1 cent per copy; 25 cents per month.

Price of the Toronto Star, 2017: Sunday-Friday $2 (single copy); Saturday $3.50 (single copy); 7-day subscription $3.93/week

Excerpt from Toronto Star. “Toronto then and now: By the numbers”
30 October 2017. Accessed 31 October 2017.

The facts in the article are fascinating.  You’ve got to read it and really get a sense of all that’s there.

Then, think of what it could do in the classroom.

  • Create a spreadsheet of the prices and calculate the percentage increase.
    • How much per year?
    • Is there a bargain to be had there?
  • How did inflation in Canada compare to the growth in prices?
  • Could you research prices in your community?
    • local library, school library, local newspaper
  • Could you predict what the price of some of the items will be in future years based upon what you know from the past?
  • How much money are you going to have to make to be able to afford this?

Who said working with numbers couldn’t be fun?  I’ll bet that you can come up with more ideas of your own.

Thank you, Toronto Star, for doing all the research into this and then sharing it.

Oh, and if you’re feeling philanthropic, Candy Apple Red.

 

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OTR Links 11/01/2017

by dougpete, posted in Links

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.