More Stupid Stuff I've Done

In Vietnam one of my jobs was to request background information on Vietnamese nationals by teletype to heaquarters. Among the common names in Vietnam were Ngot –pronounced: ‘knot,” Bes – “bee,” and Thieu: “tew.” One slow day I sent the following request: “Do you have any information on Thieu Bes or Ngot Thieu Be.” I thought the people at HQ would get a laugh out of that and waited for a response. Three days later they responded” We have nothing on Ngot Thieu Bes, but we do have information on Thieu Bes and are sending it to you via courier.” I never let them know that it was just a joke.