Years ago, I came across the following headline in a publisher-related newsletter:
Speculative Authors Fight Mental Illness
I thought to myself, I know what they meant by the headline, but could it also be interpreted that authors who write speculative fiction are mentally ill? Some call science fiction and fantasy writers “weird,” but this headline was going too far.
So I clicked the link in the newsletter and was taken to the original article, where the headline declared the following:
Science Fiction Authors Unite to Support Mental Illness
Again, I knew what they meant, but the headline could be saying that “science fiction authors are in favor of mental illness!” Maybe it would have been better to have written “… unite to support those with mental illness,” as someone commented on the page.
The news of authors coming together to support efforts to combat various challenges people and families face was nice to read. Unfortunately, my editorial mind was distracted.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not criticizing the publication. My point is that we can unintentionally distract our readers if our words can be read in unintended ways.
Some infamous headlines:
Statistics Show That Teenage Pregnancy Drops Off Significantly After Age 25
Medical Marijuana Delivery Man Attacked by Ninjas
Man Accused of Killing Lawyer Receives New Attorney
Northfield Plans to Plan Strategic Plan
Federal Agents Raid Gun Shop, Find Weapons
Christians Will Play Atheists in Charity Volleyball Match
Students Cook & Serve Grandparents
Senior Center Holds Old Bag Sale
Homeless Man Under House Arrest
Planes Forced to Land at Airports
China May Be Using Sea to Hide Submarines
Hospitals Resort to Hiring Doctors
Cows Lose Their Jobs as Milk Prices Drop
State Population to Double by 2040; Babies to Blame
Ex-Minister Breaks Silence, Says Nothing
Admission?
Have you written an unintentional sentence or headline that would be considered a gaffe?
(Please keep your stories or examples G-rated.)
Below is an embarrassing public ad for learning software that missed a rather glaring grammatical error:
Here are a few more for your collection:
Safety Experts Say School Bus Passengers Should Be Belted
Eye Drops off Shelf
Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim
Plane Too Close to Ground, Crash Probe Told
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
Two Soviet Ships Collide, One Dies
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge
Deer Kill 17,000
Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
Man Struck by Lightning Faces Battery Charge
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Arson Suspect is Held in Massachusetts Fire
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
Man Steals Clock, Faces Time
Include Your Children When Baking Cookies
These are all great, Andrew! But Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead really tickled my funny bone for some reason.
Uh, Pam, that wasn’t me, it was Debra Richmond.
I can’t really think of much, but a couple of advertising fails, and a weirdly incongruous book cover.
1 – In countries with low rates of literacy, food packaging typically shows the contents, and the Gerber Baby did not go over well.
2 – Chevrolet tried to introduce the Nova in Spanish-speaking countries, and no-one realized that ‘No va’ is a colloquialism for ‘won’t go’.
3 – The cover of Edwards Park’s memoir about his experiences as a pilot in WW2, ‘Angels Twenty’, carried a photo of a formation of Grumman Avengers, navy torpedo bombers. Park, however, was in the Army Air Force, and flew P-39s and, later, P-47s…fighters.
Andrew, years ago we owned a Nova and ‘won’t go’ is a perfect description of our car. The only redeeming value was it was bright yellow so when it stalled, we were so visible no one would accidentally hit us.
ohmygosh – I’m so used to seeing your comment FIRST! hahaha!
Clearly, I needed more coffee …
I can only think of one.
“Fun Friday article posted on Monday. New Trend?”
Bahahaha!!
Too funny! I’m sure I’ve been guilty at some point. Haha! I’ll pay closer attention to titles. Thank you for sharing.
Senior Center Holds Old Bag Sale made me legit LOL. And I may have snorted in my coffee cup. But at least I didn’t spill it! 😉
I once saw a banner ad online for the Creed movie with the tagline: You Can’t Ran From Your Past. It has now become an inside joke in our family and we say it all the time.
My favorite is from flu season in the early 90s: Medicare patients urged to get shot
Not mine, but I’m still wincing from the “Aslan and Lucy Pevensie” toy set that went to production with the label on the box reading “Includes Stone Tablet Playset Piece”, as though Moses were somehow involved.
For myself, I remember writing a sentence for my Treasure Island: A Christian Reader’s Guide, rereading what I’d typed, and realizing the phrasing was a theological mess before I corrected it. Don’t recall quite what it was though.
One of the most famous funny (and intentionally so) headlines was the Harvard Crimson’s report of the 1968 Harvard-Yale football game, which ended in a tie: “Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29.”
I’ve read some but they aren’t fit to share on a Christian website- or anywhere else, for that matter. Thanks for the laughs, Steve!
I always liked this one: This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar.
Steve, I laughed out loud. Thank you! And thanks to the rest of you for your contributions. This puts a smile in my heart.
Headline was “Local Literacy Rates Increase.” The article was about littering.
As good as a blooper my beta reader found: Celestial librarians were checking out patrons.
This can be taken a couple of ways lol. Needless to say, it was changed.
Thanks for sharing. These are hilarious.
Sometimes, gaffes happen when people think they know English but don’t. For example, I was staying at the Swasti Premium Hotel in India in 2016. There was a large sign in the lobby featuring a photo of a handsome young man in a hotel uniform. It read, “Wake up to be caressed.” Then, my door handle sign said, “Do not distrub.” Finally, every door had a swastika over it because it was an ancient Indian symbol before it was borrowed by Hitler. You can’t make this stuff up!
Last night, the audiobook narrator, spoke, “In shock, I covered my hand with my mouth.” Was it the author or the narrator’s gaff? Such a funny image!