08-30-15: Zd542
The Chinese re-named one of their cities to USA so they could put made in the USA on their products."
Wrong.
Usa, Japan:
"Located on the island of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four large islands, Usa is a town of about 50,000 population. The name doesn't sound that odd in context of some other cities in the area, including Ota, Aya, Tano, Saga and Ozu. And, for the record, at least two U.S. states (Pennsylvania and Missouri) have communities named "Japan."
But back to Usa. The city has long been the subject of rumors that claimed the following: The original town where Usa now stands was destroyed by U.S. bombs during World War II. The city was rebuilt and given a new name, Usa, so that it could "legitimately" export products to America with labels that said "Made in USA." Many Japanese manufacturers opened offices and factories in the new town so that they could claim the benefits of being able to advertise that they had offices or manufacturing facilities in "USA."
According to information available at snopes.com and in The Big Book of Big Secrets by William Poundstone, this urban legend couldn't be more untrue.
The town was not destroyed during World War II, and was known as Usa long before the war broke out (in fact, it's home to one of Japan's oldest shrines). Products imported to America from the town could not have had a "Made in USA" label, since such labels were required to state the country of origin, not the city.
If, in fact, any products made in the city were slapped with "Made in USA" labels, this was done to sell the items in Japan, not to export them to other countries. American-made products � even electronics � were widely considered superior to Japanese products at that time."
The Chinese re-named one of their cities to USA so they could put made in the USA on their products."
Wrong.
Usa, Japan:
"Located on the island of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four large islands, Usa is a town of about 50,000 population. The name doesn't sound that odd in context of some other cities in the area, including Ota, Aya, Tano, Saga and Ozu. And, for the record, at least two U.S. states (Pennsylvania and Missouri) have communities named "Japan."
But back to Usa. The city has long been the subject of rumors that claimed the following: The original town where Usa now stands was destroyed by U.S. bombs during World War II. The city was rebuilt and given a new name, Usa, so that it could "legitimately" export products to America with labels that said "Made in USA." Many Japanese manufacturers opened offices and factories in the new town so that they could claim the benefits of being able to advertise that they had offices or manufacturing facilities in "USA."
According to information available at snopes.com and in The Big Book of Big Secrets by William Poundstone, this urban legend couldn't be more untrue.
The town was not destroyed during World War II, and was known as Usa long before the war broke out (in fact, it's home to one of Japan's oldest shrines). Products imported to America from the town could not have had a "Made in USA" label, since such labels were required to state the country of origin, not the city.
If, in fact, any products made in the city were slapped with "Made in USA" labels, this was done to sell the items in Japan, not to export them to other countries. American-made products � even electronics � were widely considered superior to Japanese products at that time."