Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Trumpcard]

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/04/26/1177459875122.html?from=top5

[CPT]

LOL

[Summer Wine]

If it is, that is one of the funniest things I have ever heard.

[uberscheisse]

i hope it is real. it isn't on snopes. it sounds like it was written by michael palin.

"The scam was uncovered when Japanese moviestar Maiko Kawamaki went on a talk-show and wondered why her new pet would not bark or eat dog food.

She was crestfallen when told it was a sheep."

[cosmo]

Thanks for the link.
The story will make a great topic for a business English class.

Japanese fooled in poodle scam
April 26, 2007 - 8:59PM

Thousands of Japanese have been swindled in a scam in which they were sold Australian and British sheep and told they were poodles.
Flocks of sheep were imported to Japan and then sold by a company called Poodles as Pets, marketed as fashionable accessories, available at $1,600 each.
That is a snip compared to a real poodle which retails for twice that much in Japan.
The scam was uncovered when Japanese moviestar Maiko Kawamaki went on a talk-show and wondered why her new pet would not bark or eat dog food.
She was crestfallen when told it was a sheep.
Then hundreds of other women got in touch with police to say they feared their new "poodle" was also a sheep.
One couple said they became suspicious when they took their "dog" to have its claws trimmed and were told it had hooves.
Japanese police believe there could be 2,000 people affected by the scam, which operated in Sapporo and capitalised on the fact that sheep are rare in Japan, so many do not know what they look like.
"We launched an investigation after we were made aware that a company were selling sheep as poodles," Japanese police said, the The Sun reported.
"Sadly we think there is more than one company operating in this way.
"The sheep are believed to have been imported from overseas - Britain, Australia."
Many of the sheep have now been donated to zoos and farms.

[BS.Dos.]

Yep, it's true.

I've just been listening to the radio in the car and it's been given a fairly large feature on BBC Radio 4.

Took them about 4 weeks before they realised that they (the sheep) weren't barking very much.

I wonder what they were feeding them?

[marckot]

That is one of the funniest things I have ever heard!!

[Bondrock]

as the farmer said: "that sheep lies!"

[kurva anjad]

My Korean students will love this.

One couple said they became suspicious when they took their "dog" to have its claws trimmed and were told it had hooves.

[Natalie]

[Natalie]

[ilovebdt]

How could they not realise that their sheep was not a poodle?
I mean, even the Standard poodles couldn't be mistaken for sheep even though they are big.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007190295,00.html
Check out the pic in the Sun newspaper!

ilovebdt

[BS.Dos.]

This will probably start a new trend.

Chic Japon femmes sashaying out to lunch, complete with decorative shoodles in tow.

And when you're done, simply marinade and serve raw on a bed on rice.

Volia.

[Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat]

Wow... the article seems authentic (with the picture ), but I still find it kind of hard to believe. If it really did happen like that, then there's no excuse at all except sheer idiocy. The article said sheep are not common in Japan, but actually everyone there knows what a sheep is (in Japanese it's "hitsuji" or 羊, which is a building block of many other kanji). I'm pretty sure most people also know what poodles are too. So basically you'd have to be a complete moron to get them mixed up and not notice for that long... I suspect most of the people who were scammed just made the purchase on the internet but knew what was up as soon as they got their "poodle" (except the actress apparently ).

On the other hand, I have taught my fair share of Japanese housewives, and they're not exactly the brightest bunch you'll ever meet...

[khyber]