Strange gift to offer with a newspaper

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The practice of giving a small free gift with an item has been around for a long time. It probably began with small items in breakfast cereal boxes and expanded from here. Our local daily paper, The Manchester Evenings News, now gives away items on a regular basis. A friend of mine sells the papers at a stand in the city centre, so I often call around to chat with him. This has caused me to notice some of the unlikely items that are given away with the paper. A week or so ago he was giving a loaf of bread with each newspaper. This seemed a little odd, but at least it is an item that virtually everyone will have a use for. Today was the best one yet because he was giving a hot water bottle with each copy. It must be years since I seen a hot water bottle and nobody seems to sell them now because of the lack of demand. I found it quite entertaining seeing the expressions on some of the customers’ faces when they asked for a newspaper and were handed a hot water bottle as well.