We make custom socks. We've made a lot of custom socks.
And, thankfully, they generally come back looking exactly how they're supposed to look.
But every once in a while, something happens that's just too funny not to talk about.
This is one of those times.
It involves peer review, one very unfortunate letter of the alphabet, and a pair of socks that did not, technically, pass peer review.
Let's explain.
First, Meet Hum
Hum builds AI-powered intelligence solutions for knowledge-rich organizations, including publishers.
One of their solutions, Alchemist Review, helps scholarly publishers screen manuscripts for things like quality, fit and research integrity before they eat up valuable editorial and reviewer time.
Basically, it helps catch things that could use a second look.
This will become very important in approximately 30 seconds.
Hum came to us to create some custom socks, and the idea was VERY good.
On the bottom of one sock: “This sock passed peer review.”
And on the other: “Reviewer 2 has notes.”
Funny. Specific to their industry. The kind of company swag that actually makes sense for the company giving it away.
We loved them, there was just one teeny tiny problem…
Reviewer 2 Did, In Fact, Have Notes
The socks came back from manufacturing and on several of the pairs, instead of saying:
“Reviewer 2 has notes.”
They said: “Reviewer 2 bas notes.”
Bas.
BAS.
One little line on one little letter and suddenly we had a very different word.
Of all the custom socks that could possibly come back with a typo, it had to be the socks for a company whose software helps with the peer review process.
Of course it did.
We couldn't even be mad. Okay, maybe we were a little concerned for a minute. But mostly, the irony was just too good.
Thankfully, we caught the issue with plenty of time to have the affected socks remade. The corrected socks arrived, Hum got their order before their deadline, and the world continued spinning.
No disaster. No missed deadline.
Just a very good story about a peer review sock that, itself, failed peer review.
There Are a Lot of Humans Behind Your Socks
When you see a finished pair of Friday socks, you probably don't spend much time wondering how they got there.
And fair enough. They're socks.
But there are actually a whole bunch of steps and a whole bunch of humans involved in getting an idea from someone's brain onto your feet.
There's the original concept.
The artwork.
The design.
The colours.
The manufacturing.
The finishing.
The quality control.
The packaging.
The shipping.
Then, eventually, your feet.
That's a lot of opportunities for one tiny h to decide it would rather be a b.
Our processes are designed to catch things like that, which is exactly what happened here. Situations like this aren't the norm, but we're also not going to pretend that every single product that's ever been manufactured in the history of manufacturing has emerged absolutely perfect.
Humans make things.
Sometimes humans make mistakes.
Then other humans catch them.
Which, now that we're thinking about it, is pretty much the whole idea behind peer review.
Anyway, Back to These Very Good Socks
The typo is obviously the funny part of this story.
But the actual sock concept is what made this project so good in the first place.
Hum could have slapped their logo on a sock and called it a day.
Nothing wrong with that. We make logo socks too.
But instead, they took something very specific to their world and turned it into something their people would immediately understand.
“This sock passed peer review.” & “Reviewer 2 has notes.”
If you've spent any time around peer review, you probably smiled.
If you haven't, you're probably wondering what Reviewer 2's problem is.
We don't know either.
That's the beauty of good company merch. It doesn't necessarily have to make sense to everyone.
It needs to make sense to your people.
Maybe it's an inside joke.
Maybe it's something your customers say all the time.
Maybe it's a weird little reference to your industry.
Maybe it's your product.
Maybe it actually is just your logo.
The point is, corporate swag doesn't have to feel like corporate swag.
You can make something people actually want.
So, How Do Custom Socks Actually Happen?
It usually starts with an idea.
Sometimes that idea is basically finished when it comes to us.
Sometimes it's more along the lines of:
“We want socks. Here's our logo. Help.”
We can work with that too.
From there, the idea gets turned into something that can actually become a sock. Artwork is prepared, colours and details are figured out, the design goes into production, the finished socks are checked, and eventually a whole bunch of tiny versions of your idea show up in real life.
Which is a pretty cool moment. Especially when everything is spelled correctly.
Too soon?
The Moral of the Story?
Actually, we're not sure there is one.
Check your spelling?
Reviewer 2 is always watching?
Never trust the letter h?
Maybe it's simply that there are real people behind the products you buy.
Our job is to make really great socks, have really good processes in place and make sure that what eventually lands in our customers' hands is something we're proud of.
And if something goes sideways along the way?
We fix it.
In this case, the socks were remade, the deadline was met, Hum got the socks they were supposed to get, and we got a story that still makes us laugh.
So maybe there is a moral after all:
Reviewer 2 had notes. We took them.
Have a Custom Sock Idea?
Maybe you've got a brilliant concept like Hum.
Maybe you've got an inside joke your entire office would understand.
Maybe you've just got a logo and absolutely no idea what to do with it.
All acceptable starting points.
And yes.
We check the spelling.
Twice.
