I keep getting emails from companies advertising their end-of-season clearance items.

A number of the promos read, “70% off when you take an additional 40% off” or “50% off when you take an additional 40% off.”

The hook almost always involves me taking an additional 40% off.

I have no idea what this means or how to calculate this massive savings or why I am being emailed a math equation as a lure to want to click on or continue spending time on a company website.

I started saying to my kids, things like “I’ll be there in ten minutes when you take five minutes off” or, “I’ll read you seven books from the stack after you take six books off” or “You can eat two more gummy bears when you remove the two you’ve already eaten from your mouths.”

It doesn’t make sense to them either.