When I paid for my groceries at the supermarket yesterday, I received with my change a dollar bill with some curious markings.  On the face, stamped in red ink, was the message “See where I’ve been – Track where I go next — www.WheresGeorge.com” and on the reverse, “Please report sightings of this bill at www.wheresgeorge.com.”  Once, years ago, when I was working at Fallon, a colleague showed me a similar bill he had received, so I knew it wasn’t a hoax; I dutifully went to the website to see what’s been happening with this currency tracking project.

The site’s home page begins, “Do you ever wonder where that paper money in your pocket has been, or where it will go next? This is the place to find out.”  The site was launched in 1998 by Hank Eskin, a free-lance Web developer based in Brookline, who claims the idea popped into his head after he received one of those notorious chain letters.  His site, of course, is free for all to use and has not made the developer any money.  He’s adamant that the site is “for fun.”

I registered my bill and then took a screen shot of the tracking report:

George Report