Our Long National Nightmare
August 12, 2011 5:43 AM Subscribe
Satirical news articles which become true?
I know a few from the Onion: "Our Long National Nightmare of Peace and Prosperity is Over", which predicted the Iraq War and recession and stuff, and "Fuck Everything, We're Doing Five Blades", which is realized in the five-bladed Gillette Fusion. Is there anything else to speak of?
I know a few from the Onion: "Our Long National Nightmare of Peace and Prosperity is Over", which predicted the Iraq War and recession and stuff, and "Fuck Everything, We're Doing Five Blades", which is realized in the five-bladed Gillette Fusion. Is there anything else to speak of?
Best answer: "South Dakota Considering Maybe Putting Mount Rushmore On State Quarter" (The Onion, 2002).
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:50 AM on August 12, 2011
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:50 AM on August 12, 2011
There's a Dan Ackroyd sketch/commercial on an early SNL regarding multiple blades that predates The Onion bit.
posted by vitabellosi at 6:02 AM on August 12, 2011
posted by vitabellosi at 6:02 AM on August 12, 2011
And before that I believe it was in Mad magazine.
posted by zombieflanders at 6:07 AM on August 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by zombieflanders at 6:07 AM on August 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Kind of like the 5-blade razor...
The Onion: "Bounty Officials Approve Third Ply"
MSNBC.com: "Toilet-paper researchers create 3-ply tissue"
posted by BobbyVan at 6:30 AM on August 12, 2011
The Onion: "Bounty Officials Approve Third Ply"
MSNBC.com: "Toilet-paper researchers create 3-ply tissue"
posted by BobbyVan at 6:30 AM on August 12, 2011
Best answer: One more:
The Onion: "Progressive Parents Refuse to Tell Child Its Sex"
MSNBC.com: "Mom defends keeping baby's gender secret"
posted by BobbyVan at 6:34 AM on August 12, 2011 [3 favorites]
The Onion: "Progressive Parents Refuse to Tell Child Its Sex"
MSNBC.com: "Mom defends keeping baby's gender secret"
posted by BobbyVan at 6:34 AM on August 12, 2011 [3 favorites]
Best answer: How about Fred Tuttle's goings-on in Vermont?
Your question may be related to the idea of ostension, although with ostension the stories don't have to be funny, and there is a connection between the story's being out there and its coming true.
posted by alphanerd at 6:46 AM on August 12, 2011
Your question may be related to the idea of ostension, although with ostension the stories don't have to be funny, and there is a connection between the story's being out there and its coming true.
posted by alphanerd at 6:46 AM on August 12, 2011
Not quite a prediction, but when The Onion put up a paywall for non-U.S. readers recently, many people complained, and many linked to the article NYTimes.com's Plan To Charge People Money For Consuming Goods, Services Called Bold Business Move.
posted by Johnny Assay at 6:57 AM on August 12, 2011
posted by Johnny Assay at 6:57 AM on August 12, 2011
The film satire Network was eerily spot-on.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:27 AM on August 12, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:27 AM on August 12, 2011 [5 favorites]
Some thoughts on your premise are in this article.
I remember jokes about airlines charging you to use the restrooms before Ryanair announced that they would.
My favorite example is the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the encyclopedia in the novel by the same name, not the novel itself), which Wikipedia and a smart phone do a pretty good job of approximating.
posted by cjemmott at 9:52 AM on August 12, 2011
I remember jokes about airlines charging you to use the restrooms before Ryanair announced that they would.
My favorite example is the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the encyclopedia in the novel by the same name, not the novel itself), which Wikipedia and a smart phone do a pretty good job of approximating.
posted by cjemmott at 9:52 AM on August 12, 2011
Best answer: Not a satirical news article, but I thought of your question listening to NPR just now. There is a theory that the reason why French bank stocks took a bath this week is that people are having difficulty telling truth from fiction.
posted by thebrokedown at 2:40 PM on August 12, 2011
posted by thebrokedown at 2:40 PM on August 12, 2011
In September 1986 the Harvard Lampoon parody of USA Today had the headline "Royal Di-vorce stuns U.K."
posted by DanSachs at 8:50 PM on August 12, 2011
posted by DanSachs at 8:50 PM on August 12, 2011
I remember reading Bush Or Gore: 'A New Era Dawns' in the Onion right before the presidential election in 2000 (maybe early on election night?), because I was floored when the results *actually dragged on for months*.
... but their website says it belongs to the issue dated the day after election day, so either they posted it early, or my memory is horribly, horribly flawed.
posted by metalsexkitten at 11:39 PM on August 12, 2011
... but their website says it belongs to the issue dated the day after election day, so either they posted it early, or my memory is horribly, horribly flawed.
posted by metalsexkitten at 11:39 PM on August 12, 2011
Brasseye (1997) predicted the future of the news more accurately than any serious forecaster. See:
Crime (1, 2, 3)
Drugs 1, 2, 3
Sex
posted by MuffinMan at 2:03 AM on August 13, 2011
Crime (1, 2, 3)
Drugs 1, 2, 3
Sex
posted by MuffinMan at 2:03 AM on August 13, 2011
The Onion: Son, We Need To Talk About This Supreme Court Obsession Of Yours
The Washington Post: To ask why he fell in love with the Supreme Court is to receive a puzzled response about why everyone else has not.
posted by John Cohen at 5:15 AM on October 3, 2011
The Washington Post: To ask why he fell in love with the Supreme Court is to receive a puzzled response about why everyone else has not.
posted by John Cohen at 5:15 AM on October 3, 2011
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I nearly fell into my grocery cart laughing.
posted by orange swan at 5:49 AM on August 12, 2011 [2 favorites]