If You Can't Amaze The With Answers...

...baffle them with Bullshit.

That's one of my favorite sayings. I like to tell stories, and I will prank people all the time with false knowledge (followed up quickly with a laugh and the REAL information).

One of my favorite misdirections is when a co-worker requests a phone number, I will make sure they are ready to write it down, and give them 867-5309, which, for those living in a cave or born in the 90s or later, is the title of a Tommy Tutone one-hit wonder 867-5309 (Jenny). I even clue them in by drawing out the nine as Ni-ee-ine. Some get it right away, some actually pick up the phone, btu I always clue them in right away.

Today, one of the tellers asked an interesting question: "what does IOU stand for?"

I have gone my entire adult life without wondering if it really does just stand for I Owe You, or if it was an actual acronym. But after revealing that indeed, I had no idea if it meant anything or not, I went ahead and made up the following explanation:

Back in the Civil War, the Union Army was facing a shortage of supplies. They would go to local farms and requisition feed, food, tools, and weapons for use by the army. Rather than just having soldiers walking in an taking the items without explanation, the Union drafted up notices called "Instrument Of Union" notices, explaining that the requisitioned items were necessary for the operation of the Union Army. When the war was over, the Union went about compensating the farmers, giving them money for the Instrument Of Union letters. Thus, the practice of giving someone an IOU as a promise of later compensation began.

The teller said that had I not already admitted I knew nothing about its origins, she would have bought that story hook, line and sinker. Too bad no one ever asks what an IOU stands for!

(P.S.: It stands for I Owe Unto. I like my story better!)