Sometimes, even the most mundane things we do can become history without us expecting it. For example, buying a cute knick-knack for yourself or someone you care for. Such a thing happened to journalist Joanne Lipman, who was buying cute magnets for her daughter’s locker. If only she knew that the receipt from her purchase was going straight to the history books. After all, she was buying these magnets at the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001.

More info: TikTok 

A writer came online to share the chilling details about the last receipt from the World Trade Center that was destroyed on 9-11

Image credits: Damnthatsinteresting

“Well, here’s one of the most cursed images you’ll ever see. And the longer you look at it, the more cursed it gets”

“Like right away you say, ‘Okay, it’s a receipt from a shop in the North Tower of the World Trade Center from 9-11.’ But that’s actually not the creepiest part. If you look at the timestamp 8:55 am — this is nine minutes after the first plane hit the tower where this shop is located.

“We actually know the whole story behind this receipt for the same reason we have the receipt itself.” 

Image credits: YU-bin

“The purchase, probably the last thing ever bought from the World Trade Center, was made by a journalist, Joanne Lipman”

“Her office at the Wall Street Journal was just across the street from the North Tower. She went over there to shop at ‘Lechters Housewares’ to get something for her daughter.”

Image credits: @jasonkpargin

“While she was in there, the plane struck the tower, but that was not audible from within the store”

“She said she just heard a commotion, and there [were] a lot of people kind of leaving the building and running around in the street. So, she took her stuff up to the counter, and their cashier actually said, ‘I think we’re supposed to leave or evacuate or something.’ And she was like, ‘Sure, but ring me up first. I really need these refrigerator magnets for my daughter.’ And in her defense, she said, ‘It’s New York, you know, there are commotions in the streets sometimes.’ They probably thought it was a car accident or something. And so, she bought her magnets for $10.83.”

Image credits: dwaynep2017

“Paid cash and walked out having no idea that she was going to walk into a changed world”

@jasonkparginReferenced in the book ‘September Twelfth’ by Dean Rotbart♬ Creepy and noisy synth lead song(838982) – utukemono

The video was posted by Jason Pargin, who’s on TikTok as @jasonkpargin. He is an American humor writer who, up until 2020, used the pen name David Wong. Jason wrote books such as John Dies at the End (2007), What the Hell Did I Just Read (2017), If This Book Exists, You’re in the Wrong Universe (2022), and many others. 

On TikTok, Jason creates content related to various topics — from pop culture and literature to history. These videos helped him collect nearly 400K followers and 35M likes. 

One of these videos was the one we’re talking about today — about the last receipt from the World Trade Center. The original World Trade Center (WTC) was a complex of seven buildings in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It was opened on April 4th, 1973, and was dubbed as defining the Manhattan skyline. The WTC was destroyed by the September 11 attacks in 2001. 

In the video, Jason shows the “cursed” receipt from the World Trade Center, as it is the last purchase, and it was made a whole 9 minutes after the plane struck the building. For context, the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center’s North Tower at 8:46 a.m., while the purchase was made at 8:55 a.m. 

Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)

The buyer was journalist Joanne Lipman. She had been a chief editor at USA Today, the USA Today Network, Conde Nast, and The Wall Street Journal’s Weekend Journal. She is also the author of several books. 

On September 12, 2001, Joanne’s daughter Rebecca was turning eleven years old after just starting a new school. The day was looking quite promising. So the girl asked her mom to buy her some refrigerator magnets for her locker. On September 11, 2001, Joanne picked her daughter an interesting violin-shaped magnet that played a little tune when a button was pushed and a magnet of a flip mobile phone shape. 

These magnets turned out to be possibly the last ever purchase from “the Lechters Housewares” store located on the concourse of the World Trade Center. As it was told in the video, while Joanne was waiting to pay, she heard a commotion in the corridor. She really needed the magnets, and she refused to leave without getting them. After paying for them, just as Jason in the video said, she stepped out into a changed world.

The September 11 attacks had a lasting impact on the USA, especially in foreign and domestic policy areas. President George W. Bush declared a “Global War on Terror,” which was followed by long-lasting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Security throughout the country was tightened, especially at airports. The world had changed indeed. 

People online were able to turn the whole story to a slightly lighter side. They joked about how it perfectly portrayed the realities of customer service jobs, as the customer is basically experiencing a near-death experience and still insists on buying their stuff first. Granted, at the time of buying, Joanne didn’t know she was in the middle of a historic tragedy, but it’s still a good joke.

“Every customer service experience ever”: People online joked about how even in possibly life-threatening situations, customers don’t budge

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