Around the World in a Day

A decade ago I wanted a Coke machine for the office. They are apparently free if your staff drink enough of the sugary stuff. I asked every few weeks "where is my Coke machine?"

Eventually the office manager wrote me a marvellous email;

1. Giving Coca Cola a square metre of floor space free of charge is against article 575 of the civil code
2. Sub-letting or sub-leasing without the landlord's consent is against article 615 - have you met our landlady Gareth...?
3. There is a risk of tax inspectors as we are operating without an official cash register
4. Selling soft drinks counts as retail trade in foodstuffs & therefore means potential trouble from fire inspections & sanitary, medical & trading standards

I thought that this was hilarious and so sent it to my friend at the Economist. He agreed that it was Kafkaesque & asked if they could publish it. One day later it was in the Economist (see headline link) which enjoys a global circulation of 1 Million+ and a readership of 3 Million+