Pasadena.
When Sheldon learned that he, not his brother or sister, and certainly not his mother, had received the MacArthur Genius Grant, he finally jumped for joy.
"I don't know what I should do. Should I tell my mom and Grandma first?"
Sheldon chattered on. "Wait, I know. First, I'll do a self-interview and put it online. Oh, and there's the $500,000 prize money.
I can finally upgrade my broadband again.
My trains, my figurines, my collectible comics, my new games...
Wait, I need to check whether anyone has been researching Adamantium Alloy lately.
It'd be wonderful if I could replace my skeleton with one like Wolverine's. Then I'd never have to be afraid of anything again..."
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
Adam could not help laughing. "Even if you were given Wolverine's body, you'd still be scared to death. Wolverine may be hard to kill, but injuries still hurt just as much. Aren't you afraid of pain?"
"...Actually, I don't like Wolverine's body that much either."
Sheldon immediately changed his mind.
"Also, although the prize is $500,000,"
Adam continued to remind him, "since the tax law was amended in 1986, all income, regardless of its source, is taxed equally.
The MacArthur Genius Grant prize money is naturally no exception.
You'll have to pay both federal and state taxes.
When all is said and done, you'll only get 45 percent, which is $225,000.
That money is nowhere near enough to build yourself a Wolverine body.
Even if you just spend it, you can only make ordinary purchases.
Otherwise, any one of your wild ideas would cost more than that before you even got to the first decimal place.
And this is the first time you've received so much money. Aren't you going to buy something for your mom and Grandma,