always test your test

                      NAMING AND SHAMING 

      THE National Westminster Bank admitted last month that it keeps
      personal information about its customers-- such as their
      political affiliation--on computer. But now Computer Weekly
      reveals that a financial institution, sadly unnamed, has gone one
      better and moved into the realm of personal abuse. 

      The institution decided to mailshot 2000 of its richest customers,
      inviting them to buy extra services. One of its computer programmers
      wrote a program to search through its databases and select the
      customers automatically. He tested the program with an imaginary
      customer called Rich Bastard. 

      Unfortunately, an error resulted in all 2000 letters being addressed
      "Dear Rich Bastard". The luckless programmer was subsequently
      sacked. 
      (28 August 1993) 


(http://www.newscientist.com/weird/bizarre1.html)