Back in the 1800's the Tates Watch Company of Massachusetts wanted to
produce other products and, since they already made the cases for pocket
watches, decided to market compasses for the pioneers traveling
west.
It turned out that although their watches
were of finest quality, their compasses were so bad that people often
ended up in Canada or Mexico rather than California.
This, of course, is the origin of the
expression,
"He who has a Tates is lost!"
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