Had a boss once who was also the owner of a canning factory. His wife arrived with a box of cans, way out of date, to sell to the staff. When I pointed out the date she told me with a straight face that it wasn’t until the can top was distorted that it was dangerous to eat. I gave it a pass. All the staff did.
According to Bennett Cerf, in Try and Stop Me, a salmon canner many years ago faced a crisis: His product was white, not pink, and nobody would buy it, even though it was every bit as good as any other salmon. The canner went to a high-powered PR man who dictated one line of copy to be added to the cans. So successful was this new copy that other manufacturers took him to court to make him stop saying it. The line read, “Guaranteed Not to Turn Pink in the Can.”
Sadly, the story is apparently untrue. Nobody can find the manufacturer, the can, the label, the agent, or any of it. But if you just pretend you didn’t read this paragraph, you can pass it along for years (as I did) as a true story, which is far more entertaining than as a made-up story.
x_Tech about 7 years ago
Ruthie: You lost Carl at the grocery store?
M2MM about 7 years ago
Sounds like a real severe case of Salmonella poisoning, if he couldn’t talk after that.
cabalonrye about 7 years ago
Had a boss once who was also the owner of a canning factory. His wife arrived with a box of cans, way out of date, to sell to the staff. When I pointed out the date she told me with a straight face that it wasn’t until the can top was distorted that it was dangerous to eat. I gave it a pass. All the staff did.
Kip W about 7 years ago
According to Bennett Cerf, in Try and Stop Me, a salmon canner many years ago faced a crisis: His product was white, not pink, and nobody would buy it, even though it was every bit as good as any other salmon. The canner went to a high-powered PR man who dictated one line of copy to be added to the cans. So successful was this new copy that other manufacturers took him to court to make him stop saying it. The line read, “Guaranteed Not to Turn Pink in the Can.”
Sadly, the story is apparently untrue. Nobody can find the manufacturer, the can, the label, the agent, or any of it. But if you just pretend you didn’t read this paragraph, you can pass it along for years (as I did) as a true story, which is far more entertaining than as a made-up story.
Raider Red Premium Member about 7 years ago
I’m sure there was likely an “Urp!” sometime after that, Avis.