SEQUIM — It started out as a joke between friends, an idle summer dream of easy money.

What if random strangers — a LOT of random strangers — could be enticed to send just a wee bit of cash to someone they’d never met?

Sequim-area resident Per Berg put the idea into play on Friday, sending a straightforward e-mail to about 20 people.

“If everyone in the U.S. gave me 2 dollars,” he wrote, “I would be rich.

“I just couldn’t resist the American dream.”

It’s not a new idea. The Internet is crowded with Web sites asking for small amounts, such as $1, to pay tuition or credit card bills, support a single-parent family or buy expensive booze.

Some of the sites even accept electronic bank transfers.

The math behind the pitch is tantalizing.

There are an estimated 296 million people in the United States. A 1 percent response rate to a “send me a dollar” request would garner $2.9 million.

If every man, woman and child in the country sent Berg $2, he’d have approximately $592 million.