The State Department Accidentally Sent Out A Picture Of A Cat In A Cookie Monster Onesie As A Meeting Invite
American diplomats must undergo a grueling application process, including a standardized test, a long interview and a background check — but that doesn't mean they don't love cat memes. The world found out a little something about the work culture at the US Embassy in Canberra, Australia this weekend, after the State Department sent out an email with the subject line "meeting" containing this image:
Yes, that is a cat wearing a Cookie Monster onesie, holding a plate of cookies. The email described the "meeting" as a "cat pajama-jam" and also featured an RSVP button and some lorem ipsum — a sad sign that the invitation was not for a real event. An spokesperson for the US Embassy in Canberra, Australia apologized over the weekend:
US Mission to Australia public affairs counsellor Gavin Sundwall kept his apology lighthearted.
"Sorry to disappoint those of you who were hoping to attend this 'cat pajama-jam' party, but such an event falls well outside our area of expertise," he wrote in a follow-up email two days after the original.
"It was a training error made by one of our new staff testing out our email newsletter platform."
Honestly, it does not surprise us at all that the State Department staffers assigned to Australia are the ones taking a break from the very serious work of representing America to share cute cat photos.
