Lawsuit over the price of a cardigan sweater unravels in federal court

One day, in second grade, Louise noticed someone had thrown away a perfectly good, if but slightly dirty, white cardigan sweater. She brought it over to show Dawn and I, and with an intonation suggesting it was something scandalous, Louise said, "Somebody threw a sweater in the garbage!"

Of course, we thought it was absolutely hilarious, but suggested Louise tell our teacher, Mrs. Woods, about the sweater. And so, Louise did just that, presenting the sweater and saying with the same scandal-implying intonation, "Miz Wood! Somebody threw a sweater in the garbage!"

Mrs. Woods looked down at Louise and the sweater and said, "We don't have a garbage in this room, Louise. It's called a wastepaper basket."

Mrs. Woods held up the sweater to the class, repeatedly asking who it belonged to, but when no one claimed it, she told Louise to bring the sweater down to the principal's office, where there was a lost-and-found box. Every day, some lucky student would have the privilege of bringing the box around to each of the dozen classrooms in the old school, and hold up each lost item for everyone to see.

The next day, some kid we didn't know from the fourth or fifth grade came by with the lost-and-found box. He first held up a couple of hats and mittens nobody claimed, and then he held up the sweater. Dawn and I immediately burst into hysterical laughter, which quickly spread across the classroom; perhaps even a bit to Mrs. Woods too. Still, no one claimed the sweater, so the kid went on his way.

The next day, the same thing happened, and again the next day, and the day after that, again, and again. Any initial amusement Mrs. Woods might have had, quickly dissipated as the days and weeks went on, while the class was finding it funnier and funnier each time.

We never knew in which order the lost items would be pulled from the box, and it was a usually a different student bringing it around each day. The class would be watching with total attention and anticipation as each glove or scarf was held up. That in itself might seem strange to the lost-and-found carrier, but then when the screams of laughter would suddenly erupt whenever the "Sweater in the Garbage" was shown, they had no idea why!

Finally. Mrs. Woods had enough. The next day when the sweater was displayed, she told the lost-and-found carrier, "You don't have to bring that sweater around here anymore, because nobody here owns it."

Sadly, Dawn and I never saw the sweater again, but we laughed and laughed for many years about the day when "Somebody threw a sweater in the garbage!"

like this one are mindless idiots. At the very least, this woman should be required to reimburse the court for costs expended.

A lot of people still think that the outlet stores (Eddie Bauer outlet, Talbots outlet, J.Crew outlet, etc.) are selling merch from the "regular" stores at a discount. But outlet stores (most of them at least) are just regular stores with their own merchandise, usually inferior in fabric, design, and construction. The stuff might be a little cheaper than the regular stores, and you can get good deals, but it's not an "outlet" in the classic sense.

Still think the lawsuits are frivolous. Do we really expect retailers to not lie to us? No, I don't think they should be allowed to do it, but we all have way more important things to worry about.

Shocked it took that long for someone to quote Weezer.