keep calm craze

You've no doubt seen this iconic poster before, well maybe with less damask. I'll bet you didn't realize that you can buy it in just about any application; from doormats to cufflinks to tea cosies.

The original Keep Calm poster, the one you're probably the most familiar with, donned a solid red background with reversed-out white type. And that crown up top? This could only be the work of King George VI!

The poster was commissioned by the United Kingdom Ministry of Information to be hung only if the Brits were invaded during WWII. Thankfully, it never had to see the light of day until 2000 when a bookshop keeper and his wife discovered it in a box of antique books. It's rumored that out of the original million that were printed, only two remain. The shopkeepers, Stuart and Mary Manly, framed and hung the poster and their customers went gaga over it. Shortly thereafter, the Manlys (such a good British name) reproduced the poster which now enjoys the fame, fortune and campiness that an attack would have robbed it of decades ago. Some have declared this to be the best leadership lesson ever written. What do you think?