A 2-year-old shreds his parents $1,060 savings in paper shredder
Ben and Jackee Belnap had saved up $1,060 in cash over the course of a year so that they could pay a loan back to Ben's parents, who had bought them University of Utah football season tickets. But then the envelope of cash disappeared. They tore the house apart, and finally found it - in tiny pieces inside the paper shredder.
The couple knew right away who dunnit - their two-year-old toddler had just been "helping" Jackee shred unwanted paper, and wanting to be a good boy, thought he'd continue shredding paper on his own.
His mom's first reaction was to cry, but then she and her husband laughed.
"As devastated and as sick as we were, this was one of those moments where you just have to laugh," she told News4Utah.
But surprisingly (to me), there's a way they could possibly get it back without spending a couple of decades trying to tape the pieces back together.
According to The Washington Post:
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing offers a solution in the event that a toddler destroys hundreds of dollars by accident. In fact, the bureau has an entire "Mutilated Currency Division," which is devoted to "redeeming" burned, waterlogged, chemically altered, rodent-chewed or deteriorated money - a free service to the public. It handles approximately 30,000 claims per year, redeeming more than $30 million in mutilated cash, according to its website.
The currency "must be forwarded to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing for examination by trained experts before any redemption is made," the website says.
The Belnaps will send their shredded savings to the Bureau in Zip-locked baggies, and, if all goes smoothly, can get their money back any time between six months to three years.
So me and my wife had been saving up to pay for our @Utah_Football tickets in cash. We pulled our money out yesterday to pay my mom for the season... Well we couldn't find the envelope until my wife checked the shredder. Yup. 2 year old shredded $1,060. pic.twitter.com/93R9BWAVDE
- BB (@Benbelnap) October 2, 2018
We separated from the bills. How're the Cubs BTW? pic.twitter.com/Q6xtGwDA2P
- BB (@Benbelnap) October 5, 2018