Tag Archives: funny

Downworthy

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attic

For those who are familiar with the clickbait headlines that seem to pervade all news sites (even somewhat reputable ones) – you know, they’re the enticing headlines usually accompanied by an equally interesting photo you just can’t help but click sometimes, even though you know you’ll probably end up with an Ask.com toolbar – well, there’s a fun plugin for your browser that subverts those headlines:

Downworthy replaces hyperbolic headlines from bombastic viral websites with a slightly more realistic version. For example:

  • “Literally” becomes “Figuratively”
  • “Will Blow Your Mind” becomes “Might Perhaps Mildly Entertain You For a Moment”
  • “One Weird Trick” becomes “One Piece of Completely Anecdotal Horseshit”

I can’t say the plugin worked all that well in my quick test, but the concept is hilarious, and I hope they continue developing it to be more effective. The name is a play on Upworthy, probably the single site that either invented or at least popularized clickbait headlines.

Apologies to my economist friends

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As seen on Metafilter:

An engineer, a chemist, and an economist are shipwrecked and stranded on a desert island. Luckily, several cases of catering-size cans of food have washed up on shore alongside them. Unluckily, they have no can opener. They decide to think on it for twenty-four hours, then present their solutions to the dilemma.

The engineer goes first and says “I’ve calculated the strength of the cans based on a rudimentary finite-element stress analysis, and I think if we drop a large rock onto them from 6 feet, they’ll burst open”.

The chemist goes next and says “I’ve estimated the rate at which seawater could rust through the tinplate, and I think a couple more days in the brine will do it – the cans will just fall apart”.

The economist goes last, and, looking pleased with himself, begins “Suppose we had a can opener …”

Yeah, Bill, we can hang

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Bill Murray has taken to just dropping in at parties and chilling with random kids. Apparently he’s not being particularly creepy, just hanging out, having a drink, dancing a bit, sharing conversations. It’s an interesting story in the Post that finishes with a funny uban legend:

Then again, perhaps he’s just toying with us all. There’s an urban legend that’s gone round until no one is sure who it happened to, or if it happened at all. It was late one night, a few years ago, when a young man was walking through Union Square Park. He suddenly felt someone behind him, their hands over his eyes. When he turned in surprise, there was Bill Murray, his creased face leaning in close. Bill whispered, “No one is ever going to believe you,” and then just walked away.