“Saved from the soup!”

Much to the excitement of their younger customers, Migros Zurich organised a special Easter promotion: they sold 20,000 Greek tortoises. One lucky customer, Paul Bühlmann, still remembers the day his pet «Hänsu» suddenly laid eggs.

“An Easter treat for fans of small (and large) animals: live tortoises,” announces the Brückenbauer in April 1954. This sales campaign, unique in the history of Migros, has 10,000 tortoises from Greece available for sale in the Zurich branches: smaller ones for 3 francs, larger ones for 5 francs. Accompanying each tortoise is a leaflet, which the Brückenbauer strongly recommends that all new owners read. After all, the animals haven't been “saved from the soup” just to have a miserable existence in Switzerland: “They should have a lovely summer. And if the instructions in the leaflet are followed, they will survive over the winter too.”
For hygienic reasons, the “leisurely athletes” as the Brückenbauer calls them, are sold not in the branches, but in front of them. The demand is huge. Paul Bühlmann pushes his way forward at a stall, sees a tortoise and knows that he must have one, and a big one at that. The sales assistant promises to reserve a tortoise for him and Paul pedals home like the wind to beg extra pocket money from his mother. Almost 60 years later, he remembers: “Five francs was a lot of money for a 12-year-old at that time. I don't know how I managed it, but my mother was merciful.” The ecstatic Paul names his purchase ‘Hänsu’. He even sticks with this name when suddenly, to his surprise, Hansü one day lays eggs.