A Penny for Your Thoughts (and an Ethereal Eggplant)?
A BEWILDERED TOURIST WANDERED INTO A CURIOSITY SHOP DISGUISED AS A DINER. He took a seat at a booth and opened an oddly blank menu to find out that none of the foods had prices next to them. He asked an enigmatic automaton, “How much is the Ethereal Eggplant?” The enigmatic automaton says, “A penny.” The tourist exclaims, “A penny? How m…Our sides were splitting 🤣🤣🤣 from laughter with this joke… See what happens next in the first comment 👇👇👇“A penny? How much is the… the menu… is everything a penny?” The automaton, with a whirring sound and a blink of its single, glowing eye, replied in a monotone, “Each item is priced according to its… essence.”
Intrigued despite himself, the tourist pointed at another item, a “Whispering Watermelon.” “And the… Whispering Watermelon? Another penny?”
The automaton paused, its gears seemingly grinding in thought. “The Whispering Watermelon… that will be… two pennies.”
The tourist’s eyebrows shot up. “Two pennies? For a whole watermelon?” He leaned closer, trying to decipher the menu’s cryptic descriptions. “What about… ‘Philosophical Fries’?”
“Philosophical Fries… three pennies,” the automaton stated without hesitation.
The tourist was now thoroughly confused, but a grin was spreading across his face. “This is… this is incredible! ‘Existential Espresso’? Is that four pennies?”
“Existential Espresso… you are learning,” the automaton acknowledged, a hint of something akin to satisfaction in its mechanical voice. “Four pennies.”
The tourist burst out laughing, shaking his head. “This place is insane! Okay, okay, I get it. It’s a joke, right? A gimmick?”
The automaton remained impassive. “The prices are based on essence. The Ethereal Eggplant is ephemeral, light as air, hence, a penny. The Whispering Watermelon holds secrets, a bit more substantial. Philosophical Fries prompt deep thought, more essence still. And Existential Espresso… well, it makes you question everything. Hence, four pennies.”
The tourist, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, finally understood. This wasn’t a diner; it was a place where the value wasn’t measured in dollars or cents, but in something far more… curious. He leaned back in his booth, a genuine smile replacing his bewildered expression. “Okay then,” he said, “Bring me the Ethereal Eggplant. For a penny, I gotta see this.”
The automaton whirred and glided away, returning moments later with… nothing. It placed an empty plate before the tourist.
“Uh… where’s the eggplant?” the tourist asked, looking around the empty plate.
The automaton pointed a metallic finger at the air above the plate. “There. The Ethereal Eggplant. Essence of eggplant. Flavor of dreams. One penny.”
The tourist stared at the empty plate, then back at the automaton, and then burst into laughter again, louder this time. He finally got the joke. And it was brilliant. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a penny, and placed it on the table. “Excellent service,” he chuckled. “Now, about those Philosophical Fries…”