I think this works if the $1 represents an extra bill that you didn’t know was in there, but not if you looked more closely at a specific bill and were happy to realize that it was a $1.
How about this, then: if I don’t have any ones in my purse, this is because I have spent them on things already (since in the past, my purse has contained singles, and that is the typical method by which they depart). Assuming I really want the M&Ms, I might resent the fact that I made other spending choices in the past that caused the lack of ones. Finding the one is news that I did not make (all of) those resented choices.
I think this works if the $1 represents an extra bill that you didn’t know was in there, but not if you looked more closely at a specific bill and were happy to realize that it was a $1.
How about this, then: if I don’t have any ones in my purse, this is because I have spent them on things already (since in the past, my purse has contained singles, and that is the typical method by which they depart). Assuming I really want the M&Ms, I might resent the fact that I made other spending choices in the past that caused the lack of ones. Finding the one is news that I did not make (all of) those resented choices.
It seems to me that the problem is self-contained, and doesn’t depend on past purchases. Am I missing something?