Now that is what it means to pick the perfect moment.
To the library in the city of Concord, New Hampshire, a man named John brought an issue of The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine for September 1894.
Nothing unusual — except that it should have been returned roughly 132 years ago.
By the library's calculations, the overdue period came to 48 220 days, and the theoretical fine would have reached approximately $12 055.
John himself admitted that the magazine had simply been lying at his home for many years and that he does not even know exactly how it came into his possession.
What prompted him to return the relic was wonderful news: the library had just announced a year-long freeze on overdue fines.
In other words, the man was in no hurry for more than a century — and in the end did everything at the most advantageous moment.
The library staff clearly had not expected such an effect from the promotion either. They had reckoned that people would bring in books that were a few months or years overdue.
But the end of the nineteenth century turned out to be a little beyond their expectations.
The magazine will, of course, no longer be sent back to the lending shelf. It is planned to be preserved as a historical exhibit in the Concord Room collection.
The moral of the story is simple:
never say you are late. Perhaps you are simply waiting for the right promotion. 😄
