Lou Brancaccio’s accounting of the “Don’t Do Stupid Stuff” coffee mug reminded me of an amusing incident that occurred many years ago while I was living in San Francisco, a city with a unique collective sense of humor and ability to laugh at itself. I was among the many devotees of San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen, who wrote a daily report of ridiculous and sublime happenings around town.
The City of Paris department store had ordered from Japan tens of thousands of souvenir ashtrays depicting iconic San Francisco landmarks, e.g., the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, a cable car, and so on. Since these famous city sights were intended for purchase by vacationers, it was explicit on the order not to print “Made in Japan” on the bottom of the ashtrays.
Upon arrival of the order, the store was dismayed to find the wording (you guessed it) “Made in Japan” on each of the souvenirs. Of course, the store sent back the order, requesting correction and replacement.
The new shipment arrived in due time and on the bottom of each and every ashtray were the words (yup): “Not Made in Japan.” The City of Paris, naturally, was frantic, wondering what to do next with this seemingly unfixable “fix.”
