50 Wild Incidents That Would Be Hard To Believe If They Hadn’t Made The News
Interview With ExpertA great headline can make or break a story. News outlets know this, which is why they go to great lengths to craft attention-grabbing titles. But in their efforts to hook readers, some headlines end up being so over-the-top, misleading, or unintentionally funny that they take on a life of their own.
Here are some of the most hilarious ones that made it out into the world.
This post may include affiliate links.
Oops
The US military just bought 400 million bucks worth of "armored Teslas", so there's that.
Load More Replies...The Seal Did Nothing Wrong
Iirc, that town has had a lot of trouble with seals (or maybe just the one) and has warnings up everywhere about not interacting with them.
best part was that the wife and kids came home to this, but the husband (who is a marine biologist!!!) was out of town. I guess the seal left when he got tired of waiting
The News Here In Australia
Bored Panda reached out to Anna-Katharina Jung, a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Computer Science at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, and a scientific project manager, to learn more about why some publications resort to bold headlines.
Jung’s research focuses on the moral responsibility of communicators on social media, particularly in the context of misinformation, rumors, and gender in journalism. In one of her papers, she explored the impact of clickbait on user engagement in social media, making her the ideal expert to speak with.
Snowman-1, Driver-0
OK, so this is apparently a real story. I’m from a mining town in Northern UK, there was a big nasty strike ‘84-‘85. On the picket line they made snowmen. The Met police that were drafted in to help kept running them over to antagonise the pickets. One day the pickets built a snowman over and around a concrete bollard You can guess what happened
I mean, even if not on a stump that snowgiant would destroy your vehicle. You don't make a snowman with light fluffy snow...
Best Headline Ever
I still say this headline should read, "Pig in Australia is stereotypical Australian".
Yeah, it was just trying to blend in, after all.
Load More Replies...We, six adults and seven young children, had a similar experience in the early 1970s camping trip from Mt Isa when we were marooned for another 2 weeks by floods at the Camooweal Qld NT border only it was cattle who came through one night and ate all our food..they even managed to open the peanut butter..still pondering that one. It was a memorable camping trip...we made dampers in the fire and improvised our saved food and were never hungry, we fished, but we did not eat any wild pigs. One dog kept them away from our primitive camp where we easily reverted to nature, swimming naked, almost feral too..
Become Ungovernable
And around the same time, down in San Diego, there was a very friendly sea lion pup hanging out with the surfers. He was very calm and would hang out on the surfboards just chilling. They first thought it might be sick or injured, the way it was approaching people, turns out he's just friendly :)
I think the following year there was a sea lion or something also doing this. The problem was they would also take bites out of some surf boards, which is really bad for them. It was a potential sign of pregnancy, also. Anyway, the marine biologists were desperate to catch them because eating things like that could kill them, so they wanted to make sure there weren't problems.
Surfers in California Invade Natural Habitat. Local Resident Fights Back.
I totally followed this little one for a bit. Even the mayor was team otter.
“In today’s media landscape, where anyone can create messages and posts, the most important resource is attention,” Jung explained. “As a media creator, I need to generate attention for my content for it to be consumed and shared. Many journalistic business models still rely on readers visiting homepages and being exposed to advertising that finances the media.”
Roses Are Red, Butter Is Creamy
I misread it as "glitter" and thought they were mixing glitter in with their salt. I need another coffee.
The place my son and I went for go-Karting this weekend had gold stars mixed in with their ice and cinders. It was awesome. So you may be right!
Load More Replies...There are so many in Scotland. There's a website so you can track your local gritters: https://www.traffic.gov.scot/gritter-tracker I personally like Gritney Spears and Spready Mercury.
Load More Replies...Best Headline Ever?
does the paperboy happen to be able to talk to snakes and do magic by any chance?
Help My Parrot Turned Spanish And I Cannot Undo It
Spanish is a language, not an accent. Just saying.
Load More Replies...“Other business models, like subscriptions and paywalls, lessen the pressure of high click-through rates, but attention remains a key goal,” she added. “The need to capture attention is the main reason techniques like clickbait are used, encouraging users to click on posts, whether on social networks or websites.”
Headline Of The Year
My parents took me to a homeopath as a child. I remember 2 things, there was a massive wooden glass marble solitaire game on the table in the waiting room,. The second was that he dispensed his “medicine” by tipping a small amount of sugar into a bit of waxed paper that he’d intricately fold to contain the contents. Took the medicine by letting the sugar dissolve in your mouth. Tasted great, but did naff all for my severe allergies!
Load More Replies...Best Headline Ever
A Simple Mistake Really
The must be the winner for the greatest number of words never to have co-existed in a single headline before
Frankly, it’s articles like this that keep me clicking on the Daily Mail. Not one of their writers is capable of proofreading, or sometimes even stringing a sentence together. Silly things like names, places, dates, or numbers don’t need to fact-checked when they can just guesstimate. But that’s what other news sites are for. The Daily Mail is for THESE HEADLINES 😂❤️
I like the comments. They are all so blustering and reactionary about everything except marijuana!
Load More Replies...Now, that’s how you write headlines that respect the reader. The story is all there, no clickbait.
I don't know but I'm interested in the story behind that too.
Load More Replies...I wish my freemason dad was alive to see if this is part of the initiation.
Oh THAT'S what it was all about. NOW I get it. NOW it makes sense. 😏😏😏
Load More Replies...Soooooooo how does one get kicked out of the freemasons? Or did he resign? I need more info!
This Is So Cute
Animal control was first called, but they said it was out of their jurisdiction, so the school ended up calling the police. It was in the school and wouldn't leave. Cute story with a happy ending: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/dec/12/friendly-foul-mouthed-crow-befriends-entire-oregon/
Load More Replies...There was a picture book like this when I was a kid. I don't remember the title or author, but it was a duck (or maybe whole family of them) who went into a school and made friends with everyone.
Sorry, we can't take your missing persons report now. We had a crow call . . .
In Oregon we have State Police wildlife officers, and Cosmo the crow is a wild animal, not a pet. ;) Check the news story on this, there's a lot to this story
Well Played BBC, Well Played
I urgently hope whatever happened to the teddy bear plushy happens to the current Chinese president. Source: I am Chinese, have lived in China for few years under his wrath
Load More Replies...Good Strategy, Bad Execution
How did he get $500 in the first place. He doesn't look like he's have more than 5c and a lint covered lifesaver in his pockets.
So This Happened
If it was a goose, they would have won the fight. On second thought, I don't want to meet a drunk goose.
Yes as glowworm2 said, Star was the duck and he was lovely, he had major surgery after the fight, I worked with his humom briefly and met him a few times, he is long gone sadly but had a good life and was truly loved. They wrote a book about him x
You were very lucky to meet that duck. He sounded like fun!
Load More Replies...Not All Heroes Wear Capes
Meanwhile in Bearworld Times - Tailless Apes Maligning Bears by Promoting Camper Attack Myth
As someone who picked up a 2nd job in retail one holiday season and quit before Christmas the bear deserves a beer. Black Friday shoppers are crazy. And that’s just the old ladies.
Load More Replies...That's a real s****y thing to do. Tents are expensive and you can't blame people for trying to get a deal.
I don't know. Maybe rampant consumerism isn't what Christmas is about?
Load More Replies...Funniest Headline Ever
We had a squirrel breaking in to a psyc ward, the patient that saw it wasn't believed and almost was put on more meds. Finally a staff saw it took, called police, wasn't believed. After awhile the police reluctantly went over, caught squirrel.
Omg that’s funny. As someone who visited their dad in many a psych ward I appreciate a good story like this. My husband is going to love this, we still have a ton of inside jokes once he got to go with me. Sometimes you just have to laugh.
Load More Replies...One Roof. One Goat. Only One Man He Respected
https://metro.co.uk/2013/08/31/police-thwarted-by-goat-stuck-on-roof-in-gresham-oregon-3944570/
Load More Replies...This Journalist Waited Their Whole Life For This Headline
This was absolutely intentional. And I'm picturing Beavis and Butthead reading the article.
Middle schoolers around the world crashed school servers downloading this story.
when i worked at the Atlanta newspaper back in the '90s, we ran the headline "Satellite Probes Uranus." It was then, and remains to this day, our greatest headline ever, IMO.
I've always wanted it to be a Jeopardy category. "I'll take Uranus for $200 Ken...."
An Exotic-Looking Orange Bird Turned Out To Be A Seagull Covered In Curry
I somehow felt compelled to watch "Vindaloo" Nah-nah-nah, nah-nah-nah Nah-nah-nah, nah-nah-nah, nah-nah, England! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va6nPu-1auE
Pferd, LOL Never seen that and it was pretty weird out of the blue. Visually, the obvious homage to the Bittersweet Symphony video made me smile.
Load More Replies...Seagull attempted to steal curry. Obviously, fancied a change from chips.
Crack Journalism Here
A boulder the size of a boulder bouldered down in Boulder today.....
Load More Replies...I think it's a joke in reference to this: https://www.cnet.com/culture/internet/caution-large-boulder-the-size-of-a-large-boulder-blocks-colorado-road/ Edit: joke clarification.
Yep, it is ;) state DoTs now joke about it all the time on their media feeds
Load More Replies...When This Makes The Front Page Of The Newspaper, You Know You Live In A Small Town
Some say: Duck was their Union president supervising in disguise their work
This Is What News Headlines Look Like When You Live In Alaska
Authorities baffled after discovering a bloody, shredded bear costume. In other news, a bear and two sows appear to have very upset stomachs...
Load More Replies...Meanwhile in the Bearworld Times - Beware of The Terror of Tailless Apes in Bear Skin.
Exerpt from paper; The man began to jump up and down, and then got close to the cubs, within five to 10 feet, Sogge said. Alaska Fish and Game technician Lou Cenicola moved the sow out the way for the man’s safety and then tried to talk to the man, which Sogge said is a little outside Cenicola’s normal duties. “Our job is to count fish,” Sogge said. The man refused to identify himself, Cenicola said. Sogge reported the man told the technician: “You have the license plate number. You figure it out.” The man then drove off without ever removing the costume head and revealing his face.
First sitting president to visit the Alaskan Arctic
Load More Replies...Yup, That's What College Is Like
PHOENIX, Arizona -- A wild coyote who stumbled through a college campus has been revealed to be $21,000 in debt. But not necessarily for student loans. The animal has spent almost its entire income on faulty products from Acme, such as a giant mousetrap, a Batman costume, Glue V1, Triple-Strength Fortified Leg Muscle Vitamins, a female roadrunner costume, eight anvils, fifteen boxes of matches, a pair of rocket-powered roller skates, a Street Cleaners Wagon, a giant kite kit, bird seed, nitroglycerin, a detonator, a smokescreen bomb, grease, a giant rubber band, a Do-It-Yourself Tornado Kit and a jet bike. The coyote, a male, held up a sign saying that he would sue the Acme Corporation for making "shoddy" products if he could afford an attorney and the legal fees. The coyote spent most of its campus time in physical science, and in the library reading several books on how to catch roadrunners.
Reddit link is 10yo, and the link in the pic is now defunct and the domain is available.
The Most Redneck Headline Ever
Good. It's hard to find a rooster who is any good at reenactment.
In Local News
This Is The Most British Headline I Have Ever Seen
Yes. I believe these are milk chocolate digestives.
Load More Replies...Choc coated Digestives are the nation's ( and my sister's in the US) absolute essential for tea and snack
I think it was water biscuits, due to the flooding of the Carrs factory in York there was a shortage of water biscuits, which (for the uninitiated) are very dry.
This Woman Leads An Exciting Life
Well, It's A Full-Time Job
Memes are equivalent to the ring of LOTR - it lures away from your purpose
Did She Sing Or Not?
I Was Looking At The News When I Found This
I know. It just reinforced the feeling of 'It's all rigged and it doesn't matter who you vote for' - I draw a straight line from there to Brexit.
Load More Replies...Of all the names that could've been chosen, Boaty McBoatface took the crown?
Disappointingly the public vote was for the ship to be named Boaty McBoatface and after saying the public could decide they went and named the ship the sir David Attenborough and named this submarine on board the chosen name.
Load More Replies...We had that competitor to name a new ferry in Sydney and this was the most popular name too, yet the powers to be backed off and called it after some ferry Captain..boring
I still can't believe a Game Grumps reference won that naming contest...
I Think You Might Just Like Dudes
Imagine a country so advanced they can do a sex change operation with just a disposable safety razor.
Imagine a religion so weird it thinks being gay is a sin.
Load More Replies...Imagine a country where men can't look at women without having indecent thoughts... Yay mankind! What a fkn sh1tshow.
Really, and that is not acceptable either..after all, many men love other men including the Turks
This Shocking Headline From Los Angeles
Drivers in CA do not know how to drive when it rains. Some are even stupid enough they need this headline. I wish I was joking
Tee, Actually a slight variation of this is a thing I have heard in California. (lived there many years ago). The headline sounds silly but the real danger was oil slicks. Basically, vehicles deposit small amounts of oil and other fluids on the roads. The odd drip here and there. Each very minor, but in places where you routinely have a LOT of traffic it builds up. Then you get a rain and in some areas you get oil slicks. The cars don't slide so much from the tiny bit of water on the road but from oil and other products that get mobilized by the water. So it's a bigger problem in places like parts of California that do not see much rain. It's not something you generally hear talked about up here in Washington because we get a lot more rain over the course of a year so it kind of keeps the roads washed down so it doesn't build up. At least, that's how I have heard it described when it wasn't reduced to a four word headline. EDIT to say that sort of news was on the first day it rained after a long dry spell. Not every time it rained.
Load More Replies...Consider the idiocy in politics accusing us of creating the weather...you have to be specific
Great Headline, Gizmodo
Maybe in Czechia, Beavers outpaced the government in making a dam which was stuck in red tape for years. They did in a few days and with fraction of materials.
Nobody noticed what was happening until it was completed!
Load More Replies...Stupid headline for sure, but I saw something only a couple days ago how they saved millions of dollars by letting the beavers dam up a waterway, causing the area to become a wetlands again. They had the plans to do build dams, but the beavers did it all for them. Well done those little guys with their orange teeth.
A similar result occurred when I gave my cats a bath.
Load More Replies...Oh, oh here they come, watch out boy they'll chew you up, they are log eaters.
Atlanta Man Attempts To Rob Nail Salon, Gets Ignored By Everyone
Why you ha' no boyfren? (omg, i LOVE Anjelah Johnson!)
Load More Replies...I just watched it. Hilarious. They just basically looked at him and did absolutely nothing. Just sat there. Only one lady got up off the chair and stealthily backed out of the front door. He just walked back out of the door without anything. When he left, she came back in. Funniest thing I've seen in a long time.
Headline News In Vancouver, BC This Morning
Such an important issue in Canada that it makes front page headlines.
I lived in Vancouver for more than a decade. Didn't realize how weird this was until someone from another country pointed it out! Lol!
Why is it deemed weird to reside in Vancouver for more than a decade?
Load More Replies..."This morning"? This was published over 11 years ago. The paper is dated October 19, 2013. Come on, BP.
Hedonistic Passengers
Pretty sure the Australians would beat us in less than 10 minutes
With Aussies, the plane would be dry before take-off. Possibly even before boarding if the crew came from there.
Load More Replies...I once sat behind a drunk Englishman on a flight who was dressed as an Oompah Loompah and on his way to a stag party in Prague. I took it as the best of omens.
Fall 1967. PanAm 707 loaded with four Peace Corps projects' worth of 20-somethings just out of college takes off from JFK in the evening. Pilot comes on the intercom and announces that the bar is open and on the house. We drank that plane dry before it reached Shannon.
I was on a short flight on a discount airplane where the attendants were tipped. It was mostly gay men going on vacation. We ran her ragged but she made a boat load.
A Bacon Planet Would Be Totally Acceptable, But I'm Not Sure About Sausage
10/10 Headline
We Need More Of This Guy
A Threat Germany Had Never Faced Before
opportunity missed - they could have sent the elephants to trample shady vance while he was there
Funny headline for serious news last year. Germany called for more restrictions on the import of hunting trophies in the EU. The Botswanan president did not like that since the country is poor while suffering from a local overpopulation of wild elephants. Later he threatened to have those 20k elephants butchered for meat. No idea how things went out.
Bison are very good for the ecosystem, not so sure about elephants.
De-Aging. It'll Age You
He also compares his "performance" to his sons by tracking data and "emissions" WTF???
Load More Replies...He is 47, and looks like a 47 year old with oily skin. I don't understand his shtick well. Maybe its my problem.
Oh I really don't think the problem lies with you.
Load More Replies...He and I are the same age…I look younger without all that fancy c**p…although I am probably as pale as he is…I come by it naturally I’ve been that way my whole life and have worn sunscreen my whole life too because I burn very easily. It’s the sun exposure that ages us honestly!
Suspect Didn't Pay For Gas
Anything But The Metric System
No, it doesn't. Do some research next time before you jump to conclusions and talk s**t about the USA. This article was published by The Jerusalem Post. Jerusalem is nowhere near America. https://m.jpost.com/science/space/article-785118 . It was written by Aaron Reich, who is is assistant managing editor of JPost.com and contributing writer for The Jerusalem Post, where he has worked since early 2019. He has a degree in Communications and Political Science from Bar-Ilan University, which is in Israel.
Load More Replies...Jerusalem Post, actually. https://m.jpost.com/science/space/article-785118 . The article was written by Aaron Reich, who is "assistant managing editor of JPost.com and contributing writer for The Jerusalem Post, where he has worked since early 2019. He has a degree in Communications and Political Science from Bar-Ilan University. "
Load More Replies...Only In Ohio
Florida already has a much higher ratio of crazies per state than usual. You can start at the top and, like a pinball machine, bounce off the other crazies.
Load More Replies...Ohio is the armpit of the USA but Florida is definitely the buttcrack lol
I believe there's video of this. The 'run for her life' was a bit of a stretch.
That Picture Of The Stingray Was In My Newspaper Today
Wow, that's an old one. I remember this happening years ago, and the date says what looks like 2012, which makes sense.
There's someone holding up the ray as well.
Load More Replies...Stingrays don't do this. Humans use them to try and make money from stupid tourists by capturing them and lifting them out of the water and holding them against the tourists. It's animal abuse and it's appallingly cruel to the rays. You can see the top of the abuser's head behind the ray.
Literally The Greatest Headline USA Today Will Ever Write
I thought that too when I first saw this but he must have returned one that was found to be stolen. I could easily google this but, ya know how that goes.
Load More Replies...Right, so the Mongolian government can sell it, immediately, to some corrupt Russian OR sell it to the chinese to make some soup to "cure" impotence
Bread
In college, my Memeory and Cognition professor told a story about his senile granny calling to ask him to stop by the store to pick up bell peppers for dinner. He had to remind her that he moved from NJ TO Arizona 5 years before. There was a pause, and she snapped at him, "surely they sell bell peppers in Arizona, don't they?"
A deceased friend came to me in a dream and told me I should play Overwatch. Touchingly, it was just the sort of thing he would say when he was alive - dude was a lifelong gamer.
But did he buy the bread and discover he kneaded it when he got back home? I’ll see myself out….
Good thing he had enough dough with him to buy it!
Load More Replies...Just Saw This Headline On My Local 12 O'clock News
That's a Yoplait container. Let's sue them because the opening is too small. Squirrels get their heads stuck in them because some idiot didn't use a trash can that was probably five steps away.
Yes! When I bought Yoplait I would always cut up the top before disposing of the container. Years ago I emailed them about changing it by at least not having the lip, and they responded with some c**p about their “iconic design”. Well now I don’t buy you and no one else should either.
Load More Replies...Turns Out They Do Enforce The Suspicious Salmon Law
The UK is so archaic about people "poaching" a fish or a bird or two. The class system is alive and well there.
Best Breaking News Headline Ever
Admired for his intelligence and humanity for sure.
Load More Replies...There's Gotta Be Better Fox Masks Out There
When The Mugshot Matches The Crime
After checking in the mirror, I am feeling remarkably sane-looking today.
They Became The Very Thing They Set Out To Destroy
There was an art installation in Tasmania's Museum of New Art that was called something like 'ladies bar', highlighting the unbalance of single gender spaces. It copped a lot of backlash and closed quickly, which I think highlights their point.
My Local Newspaper
There was a kayaker the other day who was grabbed in a whale's mouth, but then spat out again.
Maybe they were bit of a mouthful.
Load More Replies...Spotted This In The Local Paper
When I go to a Mexican restaurant, I always order a couple of Tipsy Tacos.
I Love This Headline
Rats with knife in subway threatening passengers will be next
Welcome To Detroit, Typical For Our Local News
City Puts Forth Effort To Increase IQ
Judging by some of the laws the Ohio legislature has passed, this fits.
So This Is On The Front Page Of My News Today
Veird, I haven't read the story but I'm guessing she got mad at them and tried to tell them to "kiss my a...ss" without using swear words. Lick me where I fart isn't exactly the same but it's pretty darn close.
Load More Replies...Finally, I Found A News Source I Can Get Behind And Follow
Herr! Mein herr! Bring them over here! Never mind what those officials say. This is the table!
So, tRump brings in a guy whose only talent is carrying a lot of beer?
Maine Woman Punches Bear That Chased Her Dog And Ends Up With Stitches
Meanwhile in the Bearworld TImes : Tailless Ape, Dogo Friend Attacked Unsuspecting Bear, Realizes The Pawer of Be-Fu.
That Tumour Has Skills
He then helped his uncle jack off a horse. You're right GenA, punctuation is offensive..
Giant Hybrid Sheep
This one is actually pretty recent, it's a wild story.
Load More Replies...This Is Making News In Australia
I wonder when this happened, because I didn't hear about it at the time, but have heard it mentioned online for about 10 years. If it was only mentioned on Sunrise it makes sense though as I never watch that rubbish.
I know in life we've all got to pay our dues. But I'll be damned if I'll pay any dollarydoos.
In My Newspaper This Morning
Mexican Mayor Weds A Reptile And Couldn't Be Happier
What the....? Alright! Who's the funny lad? Oh, right! Rusvel Rasgado, you better run and hide, I'm coming for ya!
What?
From watching the show Ambulance Australia (and the UK one) I have learned this sort of s**t is fairly common.
They Know About My Taco Bell Dinner Plans
Found This Weird News Article
Florida Woman Was "Yelling At Customers" Cops Say
When AI Generates Headline
It makes sense. Blind people can play the Animal Planet Bluray discs but you have to be there in person to smell the elephant poo. /j Also - the photographer probably just blurred the background but that picture makes it look like they took her out on a foggy day knowing she wouldn't be able to see the difference.
That’s Crazy
Somebody Has Been Waiting Their Entire Career To Make This A Headline
I had to read the small print to find out if it was my home town (York), or the other, newer version. It's the American one!
Thought You Guys Would Have A Good Chuckle
Came Across This, Taking Balanced Journalism To The Next Level
My favorite headline, from a Vancouver, Washington newspaper, was Vandal throwing apples onto roofs. The story was some random guy riding his bicycle threw a few apples onto peoples' roofs, and had no further destruction. The news article was wondering why he was doing it, and made it sound like he was Mad Max of a suburban neighborhood.
When I was about 14yo we had an assignment in Danish class: to write a short story based on an article in the local newspaper. So I wrote a story about a British couple who won a divorce via a radiostation. They each had air-time to complain about their spouse and the listeners voted that they deserved a divorce. So the radio show paid for the divorce and sent them both on vacation -different locations, obviously.
The Argus, local newspaper for Brighton, UK, has had some amazing headlines.
Okay... who is in charge of the world and why are they seemingly using Mad Libs to create events? Has Bugs Bunny finally gone too far in his attempts to harass Daffy Duck or something? Is he so mad with power he no longer cares about the harmful effects of the power he wields??
My favorite headline, from a Vancouver, Washington newspaper, was Vandal throwing apples onto roofs. The story was some random guy riding his bicycle threw a few apples onto peoples' roofs, and had no further destruction. The news article was wondering why he was doing it, and made it sound like he was Mad Max of a suburban neighborhood.
When I was about 14yo we had an assignment in Danish class: to write a short story based on an article in the local newspaper. So I wrote a story about a British couple who won a divorce via a radiostation. They each had air-time to complain about their spouse and the listeners voted that they deserved a divorce. So the radio show paid for the divorce and sent them both on vacation -different locations, obviously.
The Argus, local newspaper for Brighton, UK, has had some amazing headlines.
Okay... who is in charge of the world and why are they seemingly using Mad Libs to create events? Has Bugs Bunny finally gone too far in his attempts to harass Daffy Duck or something? Is he so mad with power he no longer cares about the harmful effects of the power he wields??
