There was a story in one of the books which was a Jewish version of O.Henry’s “Gift of the Magi”, with the father/son replacing husband/wife, and the gifts (calculator battery, fountain pen ink, IIRC) replacing the watch chain and hair combs, but the same idea of each one selling something to purchase a gift which is now useless.
I assume someone wrote the story and sent it in to him, and he didn’t realize that he was being duped.