The junior high school principal had a problem with some girls who were starting to use lipstick. When applying it in the bathroom they would blot their lips on the mirrors, leaving lip prints. He spoke to the teachers and asked them for their help. They promised that they would speak to the girls, but after two weeks, the situation did not improve at all. He even asked the advice of some the girls' parents who were his friends, but to no avail. The mirrors were constantly a mess.

Finally, he thought of a way to stop it. One day, he gathered all the girls who wore lipstick. He then took them into the bathroom and lectured about how hard it was to clean the lipstick off the mirrors. He could see the young girls smiling and smirking at each other while they were nodding at his words. The principal then asked the custodian, who was present, to demonstrate how difficult it was to clean the mirrors. The custodian took a long-handled brush, dipped it into the toilet, and vigorously rubbed the lipstick off the mirror.

From that day forward, the mirrors stayed lipstick free.