Warning: Intense Mathematics Ahead!

Not really. Just said that to wake you up and get your blood pressure up enough for all y'all to wrap your noggins (heads) around what I want to talk about.

It actually does deal with mathematics, but only subtraction, which, if you can read this post, you can probably do. Not gonna do any triple integrals here folks, so don't worry. Plus, even if I wanted to do triple integrals, I don't know how I would put the symbols and such that are necessary onto Blogger. I just use Blogger to vent, and don't want to have to, like, actually work or anything.

So here's the backstory: I love bicycles. I love riding mine, which living in Florida, is appropriately a cruiser. But it has six speeds to handle all the brutal inclines of Florida's mountainous terrain. Just kidding about the mountains, the gears are for getting someone of my mass up to riding speed. Anyhoo, I also follow professional cycling, which is mainly a European sport, but is more accessible with the availability in the U.S. of Cycle Sport Magazine and the Outdoor Life Network on TV.

Occasionally I buy a Cycle Sport Magazine but have never subscribed to it because it is really expensive for a magazine. But over the years I have bought items through Cycle Sport Magazine and regularly get emails from them at home about the new issue or whatever they are hawking at the time.

Here's the deal, or at least 'they' think it's a deal. Their latest email to me offers this subscription package:

Order a one year subscription for $49.95 for the next year, and they will give me a FREE gift. This free gift, they state, has a $19.95 value. So far, so good. OR I can NOT get the FREE gift and just order a year's subscription for $39.95.

Now here's the math part so follow along, ok? If a year's subscription is $49.95, and there's a free gift, even if I don't want the gift, using the finely tuned math processor between my ears, the subscription should still be $49.95. Am I right, here? But it isn't. If you don't want the FREE gift, you only pay $39.95 for a year's subscription. That means you are paying $10.00 for a FREE gift that, in theory, is worth $19.95.

Huh?!

I'm sure mere mortals would fall for that, but not me and my highly trained organic computational device. I saw their faulty thinkin' within a week immediately. I'm thinking that the powers that be, at Cycle Sport Magazine's headquarters, aren't very good at basic math. Besides, hey, you don't need calculus to ride a bicycle, right?

I've never looked into where this magazine originates, but now I'm thinking maybe France?

I went to Louisiana public schools and I figgered this deal out!

Don't believe me? Here is the jpeg of the ad.