Da Bears bought me this couch...

This weekend, the Bears did something that surprised some people, including the owner of a Chicago area furniture store. They shut out the Packers at Lambeau Field. The owner of World Furniture in Plano had promised everyone who bought furniture Labor Day weekend the purchases would be free if the Bears managed a shutout. He must have thought it unlikely that it would happen. Now he owes his customers about $300,000! Insurance will pick up most of the cost. There's a lesson to be learned here. If you're going to promise a freebie, be certain it's a sure bet. For example, "your furniture is free if Paris Hilton doesn't make an ass out of herself this week." "Your purchase is free if Tom Cruise denounces Scientology and marries Rosie O' Donnell." Or, unfortunately, the safest promotion ever, "your purchase is free if/when the Cubs win the World Series!"