This effectively dulled their sense of smell: the rats could not tell one smell from the other, even for a reward.

BBC: Sense of smell 'can be improved through training'

And while there is many a newspaper or magazine editor who dreams of unearthing that freelance gem he truly believes is out there, most of the young (and not so young) hopefuls that phone constantly and fill his inbox cannot tell one end of a story from the other.

ECONOMIST: A journalistic problem solved?

And because there is no way to tell a Klamath-spawned salmon from one from any other river once the fish reach the ocean, the fishery council says it has no choice but to restrict all salmon fishing along 700 miles of coast.

ECONOMIST: Saving the fish of the Klamath river

"Anyone who's ever tried to travel from one end of Cardiff to the other at four in the afternoon could tell you that's true, " he said.

BBC: Cardiff Civic Society in congestion charge plan

Wild boar that have lost legs to landmines can be seen hobbling out from the forests, and when two gorals face each other from either side of the border fence it is hard to tell which one is in the safest area.

CNN: Beyond the barbed wire: the accidental paradise of the DMZ

To be sure, there are a lot of mistakes to be made when it comes to moving products from one place to the other, but knowing others have made these common blunders and lived to tell the tale means the challenges are surmountable.

FORBES: 5 Logistics And Shipping Mistakes Small Businesses Make