I almost never pay cash (simply because I rarely have enough cash on me to pay for whatever I’m buying). But I’ve not needed to sign my name for any purchase other than an automobile in the past 20 years. I have the same book of checks I got when I opened my bank account 19 years ago.
However, among other things, getting a driving license, opening a bank account, filing your tax returns, and anything requiring a contract (which includes getting a job), all require a signature.
I had a similar exit strategy when I worked at Holiday Inn. The server crashed. Once the new drive was installed (no thanks to the IBM tech, who didn’t even know how to configure it), I had to restore the most recent backup, then manually enter all of the daily business for the past day and a half. At that point, my regular shift for the next day had already started, so I ended up working 39 hours straight. At the end of my shift, I said “a beautiful bunch of ripe bananas… I’ll tell you where to stick ‘em, and me wan’ go home.”
It would have been equally obvious, and would have made more sense. The way it is, it’s more like the one hanging the art was tilted, rather than the artist.
“…the advent of fixed-wing aircraft” …and the advent of aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Because trying to hit your enemy with a hand-held pistol or a rifle is pretty boring too.
Nice obscure joke!