The silliest coupon. Ever.

I just returned my fourth trip to the bookstore (well, second to the Hilltop campus store, and I've made two stops at the Med School bookstore as well) and am still chuckling inside from a coupon the cashier offered me during checkout.

Class begins September 1. Typically everyone already has his or her books by this point. There are two weeks where we can add or drop classes with no penalty. So that absolute latest anyone would get textbooks is September 15. By this time, most everyone also already has well-stocked supplies for the semester.

Further, most Washington University branded merchandise is purchased not by students during the semester, but rather by parents for themselves or their sons and daughters. Parents leave after orientation (if they come at all), and Parents' Weekend is officially October 15-17.

So why on earth did I get a coupon good for 20% off my $100 between September 20 and October 1???