On Saturday, a coffee shop calling itself “Dumb Starbucks” mysteriously appeared in an L.A. shopping center, giving away menu items like “Dumb Espresso” and “Dumb Tea”, while featuring music from artists including “Dumb Nora Jones.” Because the store technically operates as an “art gallery” parodying the coffee chain, it says in an FAQ sheet in the store that the faux-Starbucks design is perfectly legal. “By adding the word ‘dumb’ we are technically ‘making fun’ of Starbucks, which allows us to use their trademarks under a law known as ‘fair use’.” After getting Twitter love from Office star Rainn Wilson and Community creator Dan Harmon, Dumb Starbucks had lines out the door for much of the weekend. At this point though, no one is quite sure what Dumb Starbucks actually is. Some outlets have speculated that it could be a creative piece of performance art, publicity stunt or even a reality TV show …
