Running with Scissors

and other dumb things. I was perusing the internet during my very busy day as a receptionist and came across this list on cnn.com. 101 Dumbest Moments in Business. And there are some that are worth mentioning.

1)Blaming a mailing-list vendor for providing bad information, JPMorgan Chase apologizes for sending a form letter about its credit card services to an Arab American man in California addressed to "Palestinian Bomber."

2)The proprietors of the Erotic City strip club in Boise, Idaho, attempt to circumvent a local law banning nudity except for performances of "serious artistic merit" by distributing sketch pads and pencils to customers for twice-weekly G-string-free "art" nights. Local police raid the club, issuing misdemeanor citations.

3)"For every 2 inches up there, it's another $50,000."
-- Sales consultant William Fried, speaking to eighth-graders on Career Day at a middle school in Palo Alto. Fried lists "stripper" and "exotic dancer" among potential occupations and reportedly tells students that the profession can garner them annual salaries of $250,000 -- a figure that can easily be augmented along with their bust size.

4)With the help of Latin pop sensation Thalia Sodi, Hershey introduces Cajeta Elegancita, a new candy bar for the Hispanic market. Though the wrapper features a picture of Sodi, apparently she neglects to fill her Yanqui partners in on a subtlety of Spanish: In Mexico, "cajeta" can be used to mean "nougat." Elsewhere in the Spanish-speaking world, however, it's slang for female anatomy.

5)Little Big ManIn September, as the result of a typo in a spreadsheet, Electronic Arts issues an update to Madden NFL 06 that reduces 6-foot-3, 305-pound New York Jets lineman Michael King to a height of 7 inches. The next day, EA fixes the bug -- to a chorus of complaints from customers who enjoyed watching the shin-high blocker get steamrollered by full-size players such as seven-time All-Pro linebacker Derrick Brooks of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.