In the Crimean War, the British officer in charge of an exposed and important redoubt ran short of ammunition during an unexpected and desperate attack by the Russians. Tearing a leaf from his pocketbook, he hastily wrote on it the following urgent message: "In great danger. Enemy pressing hotly. For Heaven's sake send us some ammunition." He dispatched the message by an orderly, who went away at full speed.
After considerable delay, the messenger returned, and handed to the officer an official document. His feelings may be imagined when, on opening it, he read the following extraordinary statement: "All communications to this department must be written on foolscap* paper with a two-inch margin."
克里米亞戰爭期間，英軍一個無險可守的重要稜堡遭俄軍猛烈突襲，負責該堡的英國軍官眼看彈藥不足，連忙從小筆記本上撕下一頁，寫下緊急短信：「形勢危急，敵軍猛攻。盼速送彈藥來此。」他派個勤務兵把短信送去。那勤務兵匆匆出發。
經過不少耽誤，勤務兵回來了，把一份公文交給軍官。軍官開緘，看見以下一句不尋常的話，其感受可想而知：「與本部門通訊，必須使用大頁紙，頁邊留兩英寸空白。」
*Foolscap由fool's cap（小丑帽）兩字合成，指寬十三英寸、高十七英寸的紙。從前，這種紙印有小丑帽的水印，因此就叫foolscap paper。