This may sound very odd considering the digital age in which we live, but a long time ago things needed actual signatures. And on top of actual signatures being required, the original document with the original signature was often required to be in a specific place before things could happen. As an example a very long time ago I worked for a mortgage company that was headquartered on the East Coast. In order for the mortgage loan to be funded the note with original signature(s) had to be received in the East Coast office.
I worked in a branch on the West Coast. We would overnight the “funding package” to the East Coast where they would review the necessary documents and then – providing everything was fine – fund the loan. The woman in charge of funding our loans was scary. We were all afraid of her. She was exacting. One day she calls up our boss and we get called into the boss’ office. The “we” I am referring to, is me and two other women who work in the branch who handle the paperwork for loans to get funded. It was so long ago I don’t even remember what we were called. Every place I worked I was called something different. Anyway, the scary money lady is on the phone with our boss and she is yelling! She is yelling into the phone about how we have all worked there long enough to know better. And why are we wasting her time. And what is wrong with us. We know we have to send the original signature on the note. We should know better than to send a co- and she stops. And even though we are on the phone we (in the office together) can tell the pause is a baffled one. And then the scary woman starts laughing. And she is woman enough to admit what had just happened. She thought we had sent a copy of the note and not the original, but while she was shouting at us a little spittle came out of her mouth and struck the signature which began to bleed and she realized we DID send the original.
It was super funny. She got a little nicer after that incident. And we began to refer to a check of an original signature as a “spit test”. If you “spit” on the signature and it ran you knew it was the original one.
I love that story. It makes me laugh to this day. Those were different times.
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