This blog post was part of our April Fool’s Day content. It is a joke and shouldn’t be taken seriously. So take a moment and have a quick laugh to brighten your day.

Friends call the incident “funny.”



What started out as an innocent bet quickly sparked controversy for a small town, as Joe Stub tried to navigate his way out of an oversized paper bag. Stub, who lost his glasses in the 1970s and never got around to getting them replaced, has what one optometrist called “pretty messed up vision.” So bad, in fact, local townspeople had grown familiar with seeing Joe circling the streets in a golf cart—the only vehicle deemed safe enough for him to drive.

“That man has lived here for I don’t know how long and still doesn’t know where anything is,” said Rusty Bird, a downtown resident. “He should just give up and buy one of those dogs.”

Stub, who works as a bagger at a grocery store, often heard from customers  how he would never be able to navigate his way out of a paper bag. It had become a running joke among the staff, until last week, when one of the managers made a bet with Joe: Find your way out of a paper bag and we’ll give you a Saturday off.

The bag, which was custom made for the occasion, weighed in at 10 pounds and was over 10- feet high when standing erect. Joe, already making plans for Saturday, walked into the bag with confidence. Tragedy quickly struck, however, when he tripped over his own leg and fell, folding himself  into one of the bag’s walls. Trying to salvage some dignity, he stood up too quickly and slipped again, folding himself in further. He then used his hands to raise himself, which only brought the sides of the bag crumpling in closer.

“It was kind of like watching someone in quicksand,” Marlene Stewart remarked. “The more he struggled the more he was consumed. It was pretty funny to watch though. Reminded me of when my dog is under a blanket.”

Onlookers became more nervous, however, once the bag consumed Stub completely and the struggle inside slowly began to cease. Worrying about his health, one of the witnesses called the fire department, which promptly hosed the bag with water so Stub could tear his way out. He walked away alive, but with a valuable lesson.

“I never thought getting out of a bag could be so tricky,” Stubb said.

Okay – April Fools. But then again — maybe not.

Think of all the paper and plastic bags you go through in a week, or even a day. Most of those bags end up in the waste stream, and the funny thing is, even the garbage companies don’t want the bags; more specifically, the plastic bags. They are a pain. A nuisance. They take up valuable resources, clog up equipment at waste disposal sites, and may very well be taking up space in your kitchen cupboards as you read this. Even some states are looking to ban plastic bags.

While grocery stores have recycling drop-offs, why not just bring your own eco-friendly tot? They can be stylish, easy to operate and most importantly, they’re green. You’ve seen them on the commercials, and now it’s time to make the transition. Earth Day is right around the corner—why don’t you make a pledge( for the earth) to try out a personal tot for just a few weeks? We guarantee you’ll never go back.

What’s the alternative? You could end up like Joe Stubb – unable to escape the paper bag puzzle.