On 6 July 2015, Cabel Sasser, the co-founder of the Oregon-based software company Panic, posted a photograph to his Twitter account that purportedly showed an advertisement for a new pea-inspired guacamole available at the Subway chain of sandwich restaurants.
Welp. That was fast. pic.twitter.com/SM4CVgpir1
— Cabel Sasser (@cabel) July 6, 2015
The image fed off an existing Internet-wide debate about whether or not peas belong in guacamole, a subject the New York Times had surveyed in an article they originally published back in 2013 (and shared again in July 2015), and included a tweet from President Obama stating that a proper guacamole should only contain onions, garlic, and hot peppers (presumably in addition to avocados):
respect the nyt, but not buying peas in guac. onions, garlic, hot peppers. classic. https://t.co/MEEI8QHH1V
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 1, 2015
The winds that helped fan the great guacamole pea fire, however, were a hoax. A Subway spokesman disclaimed the notion that the chain was experimenting with peas in their guacamole, and Sasser's office has confirmed that his photograph was a fake.
Sasser has also acknowledged that he spent $5 on a photograph of peas, which he Photoshopped in order to accomplish his ruse:
I spent $5 in the Creative Cloud Asset Store for a photograph of peas ?
— Cabel Sasser (@cabel) July 7, 2015