Dumb headlines thread

[O Really]

Story here possibly too sad for this frivolous thread, but still...

"Texas man shoots dead ex-wife's three children, boyfriend, police say"
(the ex-wife wasn't and isn't dead)

Apparently just another "good guy with a gun"

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/te ... &ocid=iehp

[Vrede too]

Story here possibly too sad for this frivolous thread, but still...

"Texas man shoots dead ex-wife's three children, boyfriend, police say"
(the ex-wife wasn't and isn't dead)

Apparently just another "good guy with a gun"

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/te ... &ocid=iehp

Allowing for not taking the space to say that the ex-wife was also shot and wounded, why is that a dumb headline? I guess it could have meant the Texas man's boyfriend, but few would think that.

[O Really]

Grammatically, "dead" in this sentence is an adjective, that modifies the noun "wife." Therefore, the first correct interpretation is that the Texas man's wife died, after which he shot her children and the person who was her boyfriend.

The second interpretation (apparently what they had in mine) is that the Texas man "shoots (the woman's children...) dead" and compared to shooting them without killing them. That assumes that the term "to shoot dead" is a proper term. Probably not, in my Oxford Mum's world.

[Vrede too]

Grammatically, "dead" in this sentence is an adjective, that modifies the noun "wife." Therefore, the first correct interpretation is that the Texas man's wife died, after which he shot her children and the person who was her boyfriend.

The second interpretation (apparently what they had in mine) is that the Texas man "shoots (the woman's children...) dead" and compared to shooting them without killing them. That assumes that the term "to shoot dead" is a proper term. Probably not, in my Oxford Mum's world.

Ah, thanks. If I was being bothered by a dead ex-wife, I would shoot her, too.

[O Really]

Coulda been in "Can't make this up..." but it is a headline:


DONALD TRUMP
Melania Trump Wishes Her Husband’s Pregnancy Was Over
The Inquisitr · Amy Feinstein

Real article/headline...(notice title of link)
https://www.inquisitr.com/4915668/melan ... -was-over/

[Vrede too]

Melania Trump Reportedly Wishes Her Husband’s Presidency Was Over
inquisitr.com/4915668/melania-trump-wishes-her-husbands-pregnancy-was-over/

[Vrede too]

Hit-and-run university student found dead in prison

I also dropped out and went back a few times.

[O Really]

"CDC Reports Fewer Students Having Sex and Taking Drugs, But Increase in Depression"

Well, duh!

Detail:
In this report, they compared data between 1991 and 2017, reporting a 20 percent decrease in the number of students who drank alcohol, a 15 percent decrease in the number of students who’ve had sex, and a six percent decrease in the use of hallucinogenic drugs.

... There’s been a long-term linear increase since 1991 in the number of students feeling “sad or hopeless,” and since 2007, there have been signs of a resurgence in suicide ideation.

[Vrede too]

"CDC Reports Fewer Students Having Sex and Taking Drugs, But Increase in Depression"

Well, duh! ...

It's not just hedonism. People self-medicate for a reason.

Somewhat related - Low total cholesterol levels levels are associated with suicidal depression. First article I found, not necessarily the best:

The Implications of Low Cholesterol in Depression and Suicide

For the last quarter century, we have been told that cholesterol is dangerous for our health and were advised to avoid it in order to live a healthier life. However, cholesterol is essential in maintaining good mental health. The brain is the most cholesterol-rich organ in the body, and depriving the brain of essential fatty acids and cholesterol can lead to detrimental health problems. Lower levels of cholesterol in the blood are associated with a heightened risk of developing major depressive disorder, as well as an increased risk of death from suicide. A study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research found that depressed men with low total cholesterol levels (less than 165 milligrams per deciliter [mg/dL]) were seven times more likely to die prematurely from unnatural causes such as suicide and accidents.

Most recently, the continued allegation that cholesterol is dangerous came under scrutiny. A meta-analysis published in the March 2014 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine found that there's not enough evidence supporting the claim that saturated fat increases the risk of heart disease. After reviewing 72 different studies, researchers did not find that people who ate higher levels of saturated fat had more heart disease than those who ate less. Researchers came to the conclusion that instead of avoiding fats, which are essential to maintaining brain health, scientists are identifying the real villains as sugar and highly processed foods....

Such is a life without bacon.

[Vrede too]

Thailand cave rescue: Boys starts to reach land

It's not like they were adrift. In fact, too much "land" was their problem.

"starts"?

One could also quibble about the boys being rescued, not the cave.

[Leo Lyons]

From USA Today.

"A suspect in the shooting of three Kansas City police officers has been shot killed after a standoff with police, a newspaper reported. "

[Vrede too]

This headline is grammatical and accurate, I just think it's funny enough to share here:

‘Die Hard’ is not a Christmas movie, Bruce Willis declares. Fans say he is dead to them

[O Really]

I know roasts are expected to have "friends" toss insults at the "honoree", but I also thought the insults were supposed to be generally good-natured. Ol' Bruce took some that strike me as being a bit harsh. Like Cybil Sheppard "Bruce and I played in a TV show, Moonlighting, where I played an ex-model, which I was, and he played an asshole, which he is." Demi Moore: "Our marriage was like The Sixth Sense - you were dead the entire time." Badaboom.

[Vrede too]

I know roasts are expected to have "friends" toss insults at the "honoree", but I also thought the insults were supposed to be generally good-natured. Ol' Bruce took some that strike me as being a bit harsh. Like Cybil Sheppard "Bruce and I played in a TV show, Moonlighting, where I played an ex-model, which I was, and he played an asshole, which he is." Demi Moore: "Our marriage was like The Sixth Sense - you were dead the entire time." Badaboom.

Warranted or not, those are both pretty clever.

[Leo Lyons]

From USA Today.

"A suspect in the shooting of three Kansas City police officers has been shot killed after a standoff with police, a newspaper reported. "

Addendum: I thought USA today was a newspaper. They can't get the words right when they copy it.

[O Really]

From USA Today.

"A suspect in the shooting of three Kansas City police officers has been shot killed after a standoff with police, a newspaper reported. "

Addendum: I thought USA today was a newspaper. They can't get the words right when they copy it.

Sloppy, but that happens pretty often with everybody making constant updates as a story progresses. But you raise an interesting question: is an online publication really a newspaper? USA today publishes a newspaper, fershure, but is their web content a newspaper?

Speaking of sloppy, in the feel-good story of a woman surviving for a week after crashing her car 200 feet off a cliff into the ocean, one story reported that she "survived by drinking radiator water." Ummm, don't think so. Turned out, she used a piece of radiator hose to siphon water from a fresh-water spring she found. And it may not have even been a radiator hose at all, since she "found it."

[Leo Lyons]

Sloppy, but that happens pretty often with everybody making constant updates as a story progresses. But you raise an interesting question: is an online publication really a newspaper? USA today publishes a newspaper, fershure, but is their web content a newspaper?
That's an interesting question. Many newspaper's online websites want you to subscribe to finish reading a story, or they say you have 2,3, or 4 "free" articles to read. I wouldn't say they're a newspaper, rather, a news source. What with the Internet abolishing or making obsolete practically everything in sight, I don't see how newspapers are surviving.

Speaking of sloppy, in the feel-good story of a woman surviving for a week after crashing her car 200 feet off a cliff into the ocean, one story reported that she "survived by drinking radiator water." Ummm, don't think so. Turned out, she used a piece of radiator hose to siphon water from a fresh-water spring she found. And it may not have even been a radiator hose at all, since she "found it."

My brother and I were talking about this story and I made the same observation. It's highly doubtful she drank radiator water, even if it didn't contain antifreeze.

[O Really]

It's highly doubtful she drank radiator water, even if it didn't contain antifreeze.

All cars have coolant/antifreeze in the radiator. The only realistic way a radiator would be filled with potable water would be if, for example, a hose blew and drained out all the coolant; and there was nothing other than water to refill it. But even then, almost everybody would replace the water with coolant at the first opportunity. And even in that circumstance, there would have probably been enough residual coolant to be harmful if you drank it. I know everybody who produces content wants to be right and up to date, and sometimes the info they get is wrong or incomplete. But geez, nobody with half a brain should see "she drank radiator water" and not say "wait..."

[Leo Lyons]

It's highly doubtful she drank radiator water, even if it didn't contain antifreeze.

All cars have coolant/antifreeze in the radiator. The only realistic way a radiator would be filled with potable water would be if, for example, a hose blew and drained out all the coolant; and there was nothing other than water to refill it. But even then, almost everybody would replace the water with coolant at the first opportunity. And even in that circumstance, there would have probably been enough residual coolant to be harmful if you drank it. I know everybody who produces content wants to be right and up to date, and sometimes the info they get is wrong or incomplete. But geez, nobody with half a brain should see "she drank radiator water" and not say "wait..."

That's why we have Dumb Headlines threads, Blooper Videos, etc. Laughter IS the best medicine!

[Vrede too]

All cars have coolant/antifreeze in the radiator. The only realistic way a radiator would be filled with potable water would be if, for example, a hose blew and drained out all the coolant; and there was nothing other than water to refill it. But even then, almost everybody would replace the water with coolant at the first opportunity. And even in that circumstance, there would have probably been enough residual coolant to be harmful if you drank it. I know everybody who produces content wants to be right and up to date, and sometimes the info they get is wrong or incomplete. But geez, nobody with half a brain should see "she drank radiator water" and not say "wait..."

It's been a lively debate in other forums, probably hundreds of them across the country, one I haven't participated in. Some argue that there's no need for antifreeze in that part of the country, completely forgetting that it's coolant, too, and that there are mountains with snow not that far away. One person stated that she had a leaky radiator and the water she drank was extra "radiator water" that she was carrying. As far as I saw there was no basis for this claim, but I was impressed with its creativity.

Anyhow, how lucky is she to have survived and then be found by hikers?