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But I wore the juice!

June 30th, 2007 by Bryan O'Sullivan

Here’s a fabulous way to start a research paper.
In 1995, McArthur Wheeler walked into two Pittsburgh banks and robbed them in broad daylight, with no visible attempt at disguise. He was arrested later that night, less than an hour after videotapes of him taken from surveillance cameras were broadcast on the 11 o’clock news. When police later showed him the surveillance tapes, Mr. Wheeler stared in incredulity. “But I wore the juice,” he mumbled. Apparently, Mr. Wheeler was under the impression that rubbing one’s face with lemon juice rendered it invisible to videotape cameras.
The paper in question, Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments is a great read. Personally, I have my nose rubbed in the evidence of my own ineptitude often enough that I hope that I’m not in the category of people the authors study. That said, “but I wore the juice!” has now become my catch-all excuse for error.

5 Responses to “But I wore the juice!”

  1. on 01 Jul 2007 at 02:041 random planet haskell reader

    I think I too will adopt this delightful phrase.

    Also, I am reminded of a quote I have seen attributed to H. L. Mencken: “A man may be a fool and not know it, but not if he is married”

  2. on 01 Jul 2007 at 13:192 Andy

    That’s awe inspiring.

  3. on 17 Jul 2007 at 12:113 rone

    I feel like i’ve been wearing the juice for the last 10 years of my professional career.

  4. on 02 Oct 2007 at 04:534 Itkovian

    I think I’m just living in a bubble of juice.

  5. on 20 Mar 2008 at 03:355 Justin

    I “am” the juice

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