Fruit Machine Chat

A LOTTERY scratchcard has been withdrawn from sale by Camelot - because players couldn't understand it.

The Cool Cash game - launched on Monday - was taken out of shops yesterday after some players failed to grasp whether or not they had won.

To qualify for a prize, users had to scratch away a window to reveal a temperature lower than the figure displayed on each card. As the game had a winter theme, the temperature was usually below freezing.

But the concept of comparing negative numbers proved too difficult for some Camelot received dozens of complaints on the first day from players who could not understand how, for example, -5 is higher than -6.

Tina Farrell, from Levenshulme, called Camelot after failing to win with several cards.

The 23-year-old, who said she had left school without a maths GCSE, said: "On one of my cards it said I had to find temperatures lower than -8. The numbers I uncovered were -6 and -7 so I thought I had won, and so did the woman in the shop. But when she scanned the card the machine said I hadn't.

"I phoned Camelot and they fobbed me off with some story that -6 is higher - not lower - than -8 but I'm not having it.

"I think Camelot are giving people the wrong impression - the card doesn't say to look for a colder or warmer temperature, it says to look for a higher or lower number. Six is a lower number than 8. Imagine how many people have been misled."

A Camelot spokeswoman said the game was withdrawn after reports that some players had not understood the concept.

She said: "The instructions for playing the Cool Cash scratchcard are clear - and are printed on each individual card and in the game procedures available at each retailer. However, because of the potential for player confusion we have decided to withdraw the game."

More than 15m adults in Britain have poor numeracy - the equivalent of a G or below at GCSE maths

Almost three times as many UK adults (15.1m) have poor numeracy - the equivalent of a G or below at GCSE maths - than with poor literacy skills, according to the government's Skills for Life survey.

Peter Hall, of the Association of Teachers of Mathematics, said: "The concept of minus numbers is something we would cover with 11 or 12 year olds, and we would expect them to have come across it before.

"The concept of smaller numbers is something that some people do seem to struggle with. Seven is clearly smaller than eight, so they focus on that and don't really see the minus sign. There is also a subtle difference in language between smaller - or lower - and colder. The number zero feels lower.

"There have always been some people who find numbers and basic mathematics difficult. Maybe in the past it was less noticeable because people could find jobs they could excel in without having qualifications in maths."

S P In exile, Tameside 3/11/2007 at 19:19 wrote:I think we all should ask for a tax rebate because it was obviously wasted trying to educate her..

The Horse, Cheadle 3/11/2007 at 19:23 wrote:I think Ms Farrell should be made to go back to junior school where the rest of the population learnt how to measure the temperature.

Sarah Ives 3/11/2007 at 18:16 wrote:HAHA! Oh my, how that made me laugh. They were trying to fob her off with proven mathematical rules that are taught to 11 and 12 year olds. Well as she didn't leave with a Maths GCSE to begin we can't blame the education system for trying.

S Tockport, near the window 5/11/2007 at 09:50 wrote: I think she is quite within her right to claim a prize. Give her the -£5,000 now.

A NEWPORT man has blasted Camelot for "misleading" people into thinking they had won large sums of money.

Three local women believed they had won over £30,000 between them on the Cool Cash range of scratchcards that have since been withdrawn from shops.

Colin Symonds, 42 of Weare Close, Bettws who is chairman for a local community group received an excited call from his wife Pauline, 35 proclaiming she had won £10,000 on a card bought at the Four Buoys Newsagent in Bettws on Thursday.

Mrs Symonds believed that a temperature lower than the given figure of 12 degrees must be scratched to win prizes. She revealed a nine, 10, 11 and 10 on one card believing this put her in the money.

However, a worker at the Four Buoys chain where the cards were bought said: "Some people who bought the cards assumed it would be a plus scale, but it is not, it's a minus scale meaning that -11 isn't a lower temperature than -12.

"I had to read it several times myself as it's a very good play on words and can be very misleading.'"

Along with Mrs Symonds, her sister Julie Tillier, 39 of Ringland and neighbour Pauline Miller, 59 also thought they'd won sums over £10,000, which left Mr Symonds fuming.

He said: "This is very misleading. Imagine the effect it could have on an 87-year-old who's penniless and thinks she's won only to be told they won't pay out?

"It's only two months from Christmas and how dare they let people think they have won large sums."

The range had been on sale for the past week.

A spokesman for Camelot said: "The instructions for playing Cool Cash are clear and are printed on each individual card. However, because of the potential for player confusion, we have decided to withdraw the game."

harry2 wrote: Can you read?
Yes
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Do you read?
Do newspapers count?
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Do people call you oafish?
No
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What about vacuous?
No
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A plane crashes on the United States - Canada border. Where are the survivors buried?
They aren't
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How many planets are in this solar system?
Eight
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Jan is twice as old as her sister Betty, but half of Joe's age. Betty just got married. How old is Joe most likely to be?
44
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Look at your computer time. Is it correct?
Yes
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How many F's are in the following sentence:
Eight
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What is the sum of integers from 1 to 10?
55
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How did you figure out the last problem?
In my head
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Cat is to Dog, as Snake is to ...
Bird
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How much dirt is in a 2m x 2m x 2m hole in the ground?
8m3
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Which of the following is least like the others
Carrot
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If you were called perspicacious, how would you feel?
Complimented
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How many times is it possible to fold a newspaper in half?
About 3-4 times
wouldnt it depend on the size of the newspaper and the number of pages?
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When you talk, what do others around you do?
Completely agree with you
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What colour is at the bottom of a rainbow?
Violet
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An electric train is moving north at 100kph and a wind is blowing to the west at 10kph. Which way does the smoke blow?
There isnt any
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A farmer has 20 sheep, and all but 15 die. How many sheep are left?
Fifteen
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How do batteries work?
Electrochemical Reaction
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You are told to take a pill every hour. You have 3 pills. How long before they are all gone?
1 hour
2 hours
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What is Antarctica?
A continent
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Which side is your left hand on when looking at your mirror image?
Left
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What is the next number in this sequence:
0, 2, 4, 6, 8, ...
10
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What about this sequence
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, ...
8
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Without looking, what is the second question that you answered?
Can you read?
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FYI, you get a nifty graphic to share with others at the end of the test.

If you end up being totally stupid will you show the graphic?
No

Cardinal Richelieu wrote:You might want to have a look at your answer for the "how much dirt is in a hole in the ground" question

If you have two different numbers, one is always bigger...

Four Buoys