Delighting in Misery

[SheetWise]

When I was in college (70's) we tagged people with "Coolie Points". Coolie Points were strictly demerit, there was no way to win them back -- but they didn't accumulate. They were also awarded arbitrarily. Coolie Points were given when you tried to do something "cool" that failed spectacularly.

One time, driving through the Chicago turnpike with a car full of friends, I rolled through the toll stop, threw the change at the basket -- and missed. I had to backup, get out of the car, and pick up the money (since we had already collected all of our change). The first guy to speak up awarded me 10,000 Coolie points for the blunder. By the I had found the coins and got through the toll, the total was over a million. It was a way for everyone present to acknowledge the idiocy of the mistake.

The correct response to the flush was, "2 million Coolie Points!" -- then let it go.