It was an unbearably hot afternoon, the kind of day when even standing still felt exhausting.

A man, sweating heavily and desperate for relief, rushed into a nearby store to buy a hand fan.

On the counter, he saw two fans that looked almost exactly the same. They were the same size, the same style, and seemed to be made from the same materials.

One fan cost 50 cents.

The other cost only 25 cents.

The man looked at both of them and thought, “A fan is a fan. Why should I pay double?”

So he picked up the cheaper one and placed his money on the counter.

Before he left, the store owner tried to stop him.

“Sir,” he said, “I should explain how each fan works.”

But the man waved him off.

“I know how to use a fan,” he said impatiently. “You just move it back and forth. Simple.”

He walked out, feeling proud of his bargain.

A little while later, he came storming back into the store, angry and sweating even more than before.

“This fan is useless!” he shouted. “It broke almost immediately!”

The store owner remained calm and said, “That is because you didn’t listen to the operating instructions.”

The man frowned. “Operating instructions? For a fan?”

The owner explained, “With the 50 cent fan, you move your wrist left and right to get the air flowing. With the 25 cent fan, which works differently, you hold the fan steady in your wrist and move your head left to right to get the air flowing.”