I’ve really tried to limit my time spent in front of the television this past year. For the TV I do watch, it’s recorded, so I cut out most of the time-consuming commercials. If there is such a thing as an efficient couch potato, I’m it.
Of my current weekly recordings, Dexter and Boardwalk Empire are my favorites. Well thought-out, action-packed dramas that get the juices flowing. The only other show that I’ll pause to watch the entire episode actually goes unrecorded. It has more history crammed into it than a high school text book; yet manages to keep my attention.
Pawn Stars
In case you haven’t seen it, I’ll give a brief summary of the show. Set in Las Vegas, 3 generations of gents (son, father, and grandfather) buy hard-to-find goods from desperate gamblers. Customers (typically men) come in with illiquid artifacts looking to exchange them for cold hard cash.
Each time a customer walks in there are two possible scenarios:
- The customer has an object he overpaid for and thus overvalues.
- The customer has a piece of trash that their home’s previous owner left in the attic and they stumbled upon a goldmine. (Rarely the case)
There’s nothing better to see than an overconfident a-hole enter with high hopes, only to leave with an angry wife that’s saying, “I told you so.” The second scenario I mentioned is almost as rare as the merchandise that sits on the store’s shelves.
Regardless of which scenario is about to unfold, the customer is given two options.
Would you like to pawn it or sell it?
100% of the time, the customer chooses to sell. This could be for two different reasons.
- Liquidity is king, especially in the City of Sin.
- People don’t understand the alternative.
The closest I’ve personally come to “pawn”? In my teenage years, I used to raid my dad’s not-so-secret stash of mature magazines. So when the question is asked – “would you like to pawn it or sell it” – who knows what these grotesque goons are thinking.
Just To Clear Things Up
In case you live in Vegas, have a rare object of value, and need to find funds fast – here is your definition of pawn:
Pawn – Something given as security for a loan; a pledge or guaranty.
It doesn’t mean they leave their item at the store and receive payment once it’s sold. Rather they take out a loan secured by the item, and return later to re-exchange their newly found cash for their original belonging.
Doesn’t all this non-sexual swapping sound disgusting?
Pawn is a dirty, dirty thing.
