Carrying coals to Newcastle. American Early December 2010 Edition - (Handelsman cartoon)

[Mira]

Selling, carrying or taking coal(s) to Newcastle is an idiom of British origin describing a foolhardy or pointless action.
It refers to the fact that historically, the economy of Newcastle upon Tyne in north-eastern England was heavily dependent on the distribution and sale of coal—by the time the phrase was first recorded in 1538, 15,000 tonnes of coal were being exported annually from the area — and therefore any attempt to sell coal to Newcastle would be doomed to failure because of the economic principle of supply and demand.

With the increasing onset of globalization, parallels in other industries are being found, and the idiom is now frequently used by the media when reporting business ventures whose success may initially appear just as unlikely. It has been referenced in coverage of the export to India of Saudi Arabian Saffron and chicken tikka masala from the United Kingdom, the sale of Scottish pizzas to Italy, the flowing of champagne and cheese from Britain to the French, and the production of manga versions of William Shakespeare from Cambridge for Japan.

OKAY
Presenting our version of schlepping coals illustrated for this Saturday morning.
Not even a smiling snowman's head with 6 coals on it puts a pretty face on the bloated body of a terrifying situation.