When I worked on the midnight shift in the Baltimore County Courthouse, I spent many a lunch 1/2 hour roaming the building. Just reading the legal notices that were posted in accordance with law was a fascinating pastime, and the postings of people who paid $110 to change their names legally were the best.
A lot of these were women who were divorced and wanted their original name back (that should be free, IMHO) and some were people who disliked being called "Poindexter" or "Jor-El" or whatever, and some were the kind who were into spending that kind of money for a joke, such as the newly-christened "Bud" Wiser or "Dixie" Normus.
But would you change your name for sushi? Over in Taiwan, people have been changing their names, but enough is enough, say the local officials.
There is a sushi chain called Akindo Sushiro. They offered free chow on Wednesdays and Thursdays to "whole tables of customers named Gui Yu, or 'Salmon'." All you had to do was to make "Salmon" part of your name. Local media called the resultant commotion "salmon chaos."
By the end of the first day, dozens of people had gotten their free suppers, and more than a thousand had eaten at half off just for changing their names to a name with aquatic associations.
And the government offices reported that about 150 "mostly young" people had come in to change their names.
"Salmon Prince," "Meteor Salmon King" and "Salmon Fried Rice" got their meals for free, and one freeloader changed his name to something that set the Taiwanese name for all-time longest name: "Chen Loves Taiwan, Abalone, Tuna, Salmon, Snow Crab, Sea Urchin, Scallop, Lobster and Beef, Mayfull, Palais de Chine, Regent, Hilton, Caesar Park, Hotel Royal."
One college student went with "Explosive Good Looking Salmon," and he and his squad gobbled $235 worth of sushi.
Another student who changed their name and their friends ate about $460 worth of sushi.
"I do not think we will want to eat salmon again for a while," they wrote online, per the local news.
Predictably, Taiwan officials didn't find all this very amusing as they coped with all the red tape. Deputy Interior minister Chen Tsung-yen said that the changes for free food were wasting time and causing unnecessary paperwork, according to AFP.
"I hope everyone can be more rational about it," Tsung-yen told reporters.
Diners with new names were telling reporters that were going to change their names back to their original non-sushi names after the free meal. The process fee for a name change and new ID card is less than $3.
And Taiwanese official Ann Chovy took to the airwaves to urge residents to "be careful to take good care of your name."
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