Newspaper Headline Laughs
Can your brain overheat? Who knows, but many of us are being tested this summer, with unusually hot temperatures. With a nod toward frivolity, and some much-needed chuckles, I’ve chosen this month to feature a list of headlines — forwarded to me by my newspaper employee mom — that may or may not have been intended to cause readers to pause for thought.
- Homicide victims rarely talk to police
- Miracle cure kills fifth patient
- Bridges help people cross rivers
- Girls’ schools still offering “something special” — head
- City unsure why the sewer smells
- 17 remain dead in morgue shooting spree
- Starvation can lead to health hazards
- Parents keep kids home to protest school closure
- Hospitals resort to hiring doctors
- Federal agents raid gun shop, find weapons
- Total lunar eclipse will be broadcast live on Northwoods Public Radio
- Diana was still alive hours before she died
- Meeting on open meetings is closed
- Tiger Woods plays with own balls, Nike says
- Republicans turned off by size of Obama’s package
- Statistics show that teen pregnancy drops off significantly after age 25
- Marijuana issue sent to a joint committee
Yes, those are actual headlines that appeared in printed newspapers, so a quick fix — like can be done online — was not possible. Your takeaway? Remember to ensure the headlines you write don’t have an unintended double meaning or cause readers to focus more on them than the copy that follows.
Let’s Party
August and September are celebratory months for me. August 23 will mark 17 years since I moved to San Diego; August 31 is my birthday; and Sept. 1, 2004, is the day I became an entrepreneur. Thank you to everyone who’s supported my journey as I celebrate 14 years of being self-employed.
For Sail?
That headline seems like on obvious slip if something’s being sold. It’d be nice if errors like that are always caught — but of course they’re not, leaving it to me to point them out. Here are two I find particularly sad:
- Credit cards excepted
- School Suplies