From the Freebsd fortune file:

   Mr. Jones related an incident from "some time back" when IBM Canada
   Ltd.  of Markham, Ont., ordered some parts from a new supplier in Japan.
   The company noted in its order that acceptable quality allowed for 1.5 
   percent defects (a fairly high standard in North America at the time).

   The Japanese sent the order, with a few parts packaged separately in
   plastic.  The accompanying letter said: "We don't know why you want 1.5
   percent defective parts, but for your convenience, we've packed them
   separately."
  -- Excerpted from an article in The (Toronto) Globe and Mail