A social media post asking readers to find the hidden word has led to a T-shirt being removed from Walmart stores across Canada.
The T-shirt has a recycling theme, all in a sans-serif font, and says people should recycle, reuse, renew and rethink.
That message is not this issue – the way it’s designed is. The shirt has RE in large letters, followed by the words ‘cycle,’ use,’ ‘new,’ and ‘think’ in smaller letters to the right.
Read horizontally, there’s no problem. But read vertically, the first letter of each of those four words spells a vulgar word.
The Twitter post, which has been viewed 2.7 million times as of Wednesday, says “I need this shirt before Walmart realizes what they have done. Find the hidden word.”
The shirt was said to be available only in Canada.
In an email to Global News, Walmart Canada confirmed that the T-shirts were sold in its stores under the George brand.
“When we became aware of some unfortunate and unintentional language in a recent T-shirt design, we removed the items from sale,” Walmart Canada said.
“We apologize for any unintended offence this has caused. These products can be returned for a full refund in stores.”
While Walmart Canada has removed the T-shirts, copycat items are available online.