The "DOH" factor

There are stories that I love to hear, but I'm not really sure why. It could be that I find immeasurable humor in human attempts at brilliance (only to be highlighted forever as 'the stupid mistake that caused more harm than good'). We can refer to this as the "DOH" factor.

One of my favorites is about Greenpeace and the "saving" of the baby seals. Now, it's not funny that the baby seals were being killed for their pelts. It is funny, though, that the 'savior' side of Greenpeace came up with the BRILLIANT idea of spray painting the animals a neon green color to ruin the coat and keep poachers from killing them. Here's the tee-hee: baby seals have white fur so they can blend in with their natural environment (keeping them safe from their natural predators). The green highlighted them so the natural predators were able to better see them! Brilliant, Greenpeace, brilliant!

I just read this one and love it too! I had no idea...Thank you Merriam Webster!

In 1898, the German pharmaceutical company Bayer began marketing heroin – whose name comes from the German word heroisch, meaning "powerful."

The product was marketed as a cough remedy made from a supposedly non-addictive morphine derivative. It was also used as a cure for morphine addiction – which unfortunately caused large numbers of users to become heroin addicts.

In part because of the growing population of "junkies" (a term that may derive from the fact that some supported their addictions by selling scrap metal), Bayer eventually ceased production and lost its trademark.

In 1914, American officials began regulating opiates, including the generic, powdered version of heroin.