I received what might have been the most ridiculous piece of mail I've ever seen this weekend.

It came in the form of a check from Verizon -- my former phone company -- that reimbursed me for an overpayment.

The amount of my overpayment?

One cent.

That's right. Verizon sent me a check for a penny.

That check -- which I plan to save until I really need it -- prompted quite a bit of discussion in our home about how much money the company likely spent to process and mail our reimbursement.

This from a company that forces customers to take their phones outside to test line failures.