In 2001: A Space Odyssey, a mysterious rectangular slab appears at critical times to change the course of human destiny. In the case of a London, England lawyer, a blob of ketchup, perhaps from one of those rectangular packets, has apparently derailed a career. As reported in Scotsman.com and elsewhere, a secretary to a well-paid London lawyer dribbled some ketchup on the lawyer's trousers (exactly how remains unclear). The lawyer later e-mailed the secretary asking for the £4 his cleaner would charge to remove the stain. And he wanted the cash that day. The secretary did not see the e-mail until she returned from her mother's funeral and was outraged. Her withering reply, detailed in the article, circulated in the firm and across the globe. Following the furor generated by the e-mail, the lawyer resigned, although he says he made the decision to resign long before the ketchup incident. The complete e-mail is at Snopes.com, a website devoted to verifying internet stories and urban legends.
