26-003
Menu prices in funny units
FINAL RESOLUTION
On 17 February, 2026, the Whimsy Governance Board was asked to rule on the following:
A pub (“The Butterfly and the Pig”, Glasgow, Scotland) lists most prices on their menu in various fictional units, though not to the point of unclarity (all in base 10, clearly being pounds and pence.) Is this whimsical?[1]
Board staff delivered Confirmation of Potential Receipt Of Inquiry[2] on 22 February, 2026.
The Board does not rule on whether something is whimsical, instead preferring to rule on whether a situation has insufficient, acceptable, or inappropriate levels of whimsy. As such, the Board will rule on the acceptability of the level of whimsy herein.
A portion of the menu has been transcribed:
Steak pie for meat lovers everywhere the size of Desperate Dan with poofy puff pastry served with baby vegetables, with a choice of mash, chips or new potatoes.
17 pooonds 95pee
Fritttttttatta a little like a Spanish omelette with a little more substance. Mixed veg, cherry tomatoes and green veg… oh so healthy (contain parmesan, leave it out to make it veggie safe) (GFi) (DF)
14 bucks 65 cents
I feel like chicken tonight… garlic and tarragon marinated chicken burger served with sliced tomatoes, baby greens and homemade slaw as well as our homemade chips, of course!
15 feathers 25 beaks
Butterfly and piglet burger - comes with kitchen made space mayonnaise, earthling ketchup and chips or make a cheeky cheese please burger with Mature cheddar, blue, or brie (GFi)
14 pounds 45 pennies + 150 pennies for cheese
Sampling of other prices found in menu:
BEGIN MEMBER 1
The test I would apply here is basically “is any of this so unclear that someone might inadvertently order something very expensive and not realize it?”. And it seems that the answer is basically “no”.
Now, as for the menu items themselves, the descriptions are clearly whimsical and, I mean, there’s a part of me that looks at it through the lens of “would an LEP person who is also a picky eater or has food allergies get into trouble here?”. But if you take that to its extreme, we’d force all restaurant menus to be incredibly boring.
I think this is all acceptable whimsy.
END MEMBER 1
BEGIN MEMBER 2
This is charming. I find the level of whimsy in prices perfectly reasonable. I am pleased to find that prices are still in base 10, especially considering the United Kingdom’s history of non-base-10 currencies. This menu is playful while not sacrificing clarity.
I do, however, wish that all prices were displayed in the whimsical format. Some are still given in standard £ pounds. When reading the menu, I found myself being disappointed whenever I came across such a price.
This is an acceptable level of whimsy, and I encourage other restauranteurs to experiment with how menu items and prices are communicated.
END MEMBER 2
BEGIN MEMBER 3
Docket will be updated with comment from Member 3.
END MEMBER 3
RESOLUTION 03 PASSED ON 26 MAR 2026.
3 FORSUREEES: KR, NM, DN
0 ABSTAIN:
0 NOSIREEBOBS.
0 SMACKAROOS DECLARED CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.
Appendix I “IMAGES”
Image 1 - Page 1 of The Butterfly and the Pig menu
Image 2 - Page 2 of The Butterfly and the Pig menu
Inquiry lightly edited for clarity. Independent investigator determined edits had no significant impact on whimsy levels of Inquiry. ↩︎
“Your inquiry may have been received by the Whimsy Governance Board on February 17, 2026. If it was, it will be taken up at the next meeting of the board. This email notification does not constitute definite confirmation of receipt. You may have received this email because your inquiry was not received.” ↩︎
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