From May 1952 to June 1952, I was a runner on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade. I would take the orders from my employer's phone desk to the pit where the trade was to be made. The orders were to purchase or sell 10,000 bushel lots of corn, soybeans, or other commodities. There were people in the pits called scalpers. They made money by constantly buying or selling commodities as the prices changed from minute to minute. Each time they would try to sell for just a little more than they paid. Since I was sitting around much of the time, I made imaginary purchases and sales. At the end of each day, I would determine whether I made or lost money. I noticed that on some days, I made money, but on most days, I lost money. So I gave up my short career as an imaginary scalper. However, I learned a valuable lesson; that is, to stay out of stock, commodity and other such markets unless I know what I am doing.