Thursday, February 11, 2010

One of the more unsuccessful ideas at the Daily


JEFF V. ADDS: The picture alone made me laugh out loud, but some reminiscence is due... I remember when the box (not nearly as big as the one pictured) was placed in the "conference" room of the Daily. A little open-topped compartmentalized cardboard box, not unlike the kind you store Christmas ornaments in, full of candy bars and Cornuts and such. I recall how impressed I was at the idea that someone in the world still had the confidence in their fellow human beings that such an honor-based form of retail could succeed. As Bruce's headline denotes, it did not. Candy bars and snacks disappeared from the thing while its collection box remained equally empty or close to it. Scribbled IOUS were instered into the slot. Handfuls of spare change. The greatest moment in the venture's short-lived existence was when a note appeared on the Honor Snacks box, charging "This Thing ATE MY QUARTER!"

All these years later though it kinda warms the heart that the Honor Snacks tradition -- and the belief in altrusism -- still lives in the modern age (note the http://www.honorsnacks.com/ in the above picture).