I had originally meant for the meme to communicate Person A buying one $25 card for Person B and one $25 card for Person C and Persons B and C buying the same for each other and Person A simultaneously, which would be $25 * 2 * 3 = $150 spent.
However, I also figure a non-simultaneous gift exchange could occur, which engenders a couple of other scenarios:
Person A could buy one $25 card for Person B, which Person B re-gifts to Person C, who then re-re-gifts it back to Person A, which would be $25 spent.
Alternatively, Person A buys one $25 card for Person B, Person B buys one $25 card for Person C, and Person C buys one $25 card for Person A. Each person then re-gifts their card to the remaining person who has never owned the card. The three original cards are again re-gifted from their third owner back to their original owner. $25 * 3 = $75 spent.
For me, it was The Beatles’ new “Now and Then” track. A couple of things to mention though:
I was born after 1996. This is the only new Beatles song released in my lifetime that hasn’t appeared as bootlegs or the like. Unless Hell freezes over and they release “Carnival of Light”, this is the only opportunity I will ever have to experience a truly new track by the group.
I didn’t have as strong of a reaction the first that I heard it. Or the second time. I suffer from TMJ, which tenses and aches my jaw and puts pressure on my inner ear, oftentimes dampening my hearing. It wasn’t until late the date of release that my jaw popped and released the tension which it had had that day and I could hear clearly. The first thing I did was put on the new song so I could experience it in its whole. And there were so many layers to it that I couldn’t hear with the first listens. There was a mix of appreciation marred by the frustration of how fleeting the moment was, not just from being part of the once in a lifetime zeitgeist but also a brief moment of physical relief and undamped senses.