The Bank of Canada just can’t get it right.
DIRTY, SEXY MONEY
To counter counterfeiting, the Bank of Canada added lots of new images and features to currency redesigned in 2009. But some people thought the $100 bill’s DNA strands resembled adult toys, and others thought the transparent “windows” were shaped like a woman’s body. Then there was the issue of the National Vimy Memorial. Embedded on the back of their new $20 bill, the picture features two monoliths graced by naked Grecian figures representing truth and justice. Many Canadians complained it was too pornographic. Some who didn’t recognize the Vimy Memorial, erected on French soil to honor fallen WWI Canadians, thought the picture represented New York City’s World Trade Center...with naked ladies added.
LEAF NOW
Many Canadians complained when the new $20, $50, and $100 bills displayed not the familiar three-pronged sugar maple leaf, as seen on the national flag, but a five-pronged, highly invasive Norway maple leaf. The Bank of Canada explained that the design was deliberate choice to present a “stylized blend” of sugar and Norway maple leaves to avoid “regional bias.”
THAT’S NOT FAIR
The new $100 bill brought on more outrage when Canadians discovered that a picture of a female Asian scientist on back of the new bill had been replaced with a Caucasian woman. In August 2012, the Bank of Canada apologized, saying that it changed the image only because the focus groups said the Asian image stereotyped Asians as “techy” and was insulting because the image had been printed in yellow. The image was not the only source of intrigue for the bill: The Bank of Canada received enough reports that the polymer note smelled like maple syrup that officials publicly denied scenting the bill.