This happened long ago, in the pre-internet era, and a few minutes of searching yielded nothing to substantiate it but it is true to the best of my recollection

This happened long ago, in the pre-internet era, and a few minutes of searching yielded nothing to substantiate it but it is true to the best of my recollection. McDonald's has long had a "Birthday Club" where you could fill out a form with your name, address, age, and gender. They would mail an invitation to you for your birthday with a coupon for a discount and free ice cream for you and your friends. Someone (not me!) wanted to take advantage of the free ice cream so they filled out the form with a made-up name, the correct address and a birthday that wasn't far off. The invitation arrived in the mail with the coupon. They enjoyed the free ice cream and soon forgot about the whole thing. About ten years go by and they get a letter from the Selective Service System reminding them of their obligation to register within thirty days of their 18th birthday. The letter was addressed to no one they knew. Then they remembered... It was the name they used long ago to get free ice cream at McDonalds. It's amazing what you can find on Flickr. Here are images of the Ronald McDonald Birthday Club form from 1975: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wafflewhiffer/3093556082/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wafflewhiffer/3093556082/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wafflewhiffer/3093555518/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/wafflewhiffer/3093555518/