# Did The Onion used to be funnier? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 9, 2015, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168 "2015-02-09T00:43:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/21 "2015-02-09T03:41:49Z")
I’ll vote for “Still funny”. The ‘new’ sister site, Clickhole is pretty good as well and perhaps more fitting for mocking what passes for news media these days. Favorite Clickhole headline so far: \*\*When This Family’s Dog Went Missing, They Didn’t Know What To Do. That’s The End Of The Story. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/22 "2015-02-09T04:50:54Z")
**Area man thinks Onion used to be funnier.** ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/23 "2015-02-09T10:23:39Z")
A few things: 1. Is it still behind the paywall? Last time I clicked through, they were wanting money. I can’t remember a decent headline for a while, but used to see them via facebook. 2. Is the print edition still going? I’ve visited a couple of cities in the US, and only ever found a paper edition in New York, and usually down around Chinatown. I was in NY last month, and didn’t see any even empty containers… Never seen it in Vegas, LA, San Francisco, San Jose… 1. I’d pay to buy the paper version if the costs were reasonable, but in the UK they charge an absolute fortune for the postage. I’d not mind getting it in say monthly bundles but irregularly if it was cheaper. But last I looked the print edition cost 50 cents and the postage was $2.50 to send it… ---
**Author:** ![CGav8r](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@CGav8r](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CGav8r)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/24 "2015-02-09T12:35:08Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > I came in here to talk about their 9/11 issue. The header was a satellite picture of the US with crosshairs superimposed on it, and the title “Holy Fucking Shit”. It was such a relief to see something so candid and un-purple that I fell off my chair laughing. > > However: I think the Onion is still sometimes pretty darn funny. The current issue has a headline that reads “ **Health Experts Recommend Standing Up At Desk, Leaving Office, Never Coming Back**.” I read that aloud to my husband last night. Pretty spot-on, you know? I was going to quote this same story; wife and I laughed hard at this and I think it shows that The Onion is still consistently funny. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/25 "2015-02-09T13:28:33Z")
Nostalgia filter and you’re older now. Things I would have found gut-busting funny when I was in my twenties now not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/26 "2015-02-09T13:43:20Z")
The Onion has come closer and closer to [reporting real news](http://www.theonion.com/articles/scientists-politely-remind-world-that-clean-energy,36086/) and Fox has gone farther and farther away; they have now switched positions on the continuum. The difference is that when The Onion reports near-news, it’s still kinda funny, but when Fox reports faux news, it’s kinda sad. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/27 "2015-02-09T14:33:57Z")
I find it to be just as funny as it was in the 90s, which is to say only occasionally and even then not very. Looking at their home page today, the first headline is: Teen Crafting Marketable Persona In Garage Hoping To One Day Win Grammy Seriously? They think that’s funny? It just looks like one of a million fluff pieces in the local sections of a million different papers. And then over to the side are links to headlines that are from actual recent stories. And then people act all smug if someone who’s never heard of The Onion before (And sorry Onion fans, it’s not as well known as you think it is) falls for one of these unfunny but well written and real looking articles. It’s the internet equivalent of “Yer shoelace is untied.” “HA! The doofus totally bought it!” The Onion isn’t even a particularly jokey name. A little googling finds a real community paper called [“The Florida Onion”](http://warwickinfo.net/floridaonion/) in Florida, NY. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/28 "2015-02-09T14:51:52Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Seriously? They think that’s funny? It just looks like one of a million fluff pieces in the local sections of a million different papers. And then over to the side are links to headlines that are from actual recent stories. Well, the “actual recent stories” are from The Onion, too, unless I’m looking at the wrong thing. (ETA: Oh, I see it now when you go off the main page under “Lesser News from the Web.”) The one that I can see tripping people up is the Daily Currant, which actually does sometimes read as real news stories (and is usually painfully unfunny, IMHO.) With The Onion, most stories have obvious clues that they’re tongue-in-cheek. (Plus in this metro area, The Onion is pretty well known and available at many newspaper boxes for free, especially in the downtown area.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/29 "2015-02-09T14:59:29Z")
Well, it looks like they stopped printing in December of 2013, so I guess it’s been awhile since I’ve picked up a print edition. I could have sworn I read one last year, but I guess it must have been the year previous. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/30 "2015-02-09T15:10:52Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, the “actual recent stories” are from The Onion, too, unless I’m looking at the wrong thing. (ETA: Oh, I see it now when you go off the main page under “Lesser News from the Web.”) The one that I can see tripping people up is the Daily Currant, which actually does sometimes read as real news stories (and is usually painfully unfunny, IMHO.) With The Onion, most stories have obvious clues that they’re tongue-in-cheek. Yes, the links went to Onion stories, but that was my point. [Harper Lee To Publish ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ Sequel](http://www.theonion.com/articles/harper-lee-to-publish-to-kill-a-mockingbird-sequel,37936/) and [Therapy Kangaroo Kicked Out Of McDonald’s](http://www.theonion.com/articles/therapy-kangaroo-kicked-out-of-mcdonalds,37940/) both go to articles “from The Onion”, but are in fact actual events that were in the mainstream news lately. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/31 "2015-02-09T15:59:30Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > A few things: > > 1. Is it still behind the paywall? Last time I clicked through, they were wanting money. I can’t remember a decent headline for a while, but used to see them via facebook. > > 2. Is the print edition still going? I’ve visited a couple of cities in the US, and only ever found a paper edition in New York, and usually down around Chinatown. I was in NY last month, and didn’t see any even empty containers… > > Never seen it in Vegas, LA, San Francisco, San Jose… > > 1. I’d pay to buy the paper version if the costs were reasonable, but in the UK they charge an absolute fortune for the postage. I’d not mind getting it in say monthly bundles but irregularly if it was cheaper. But last I looked the print edition cost 50 cents and the postage was $2.50 to send it… I think they did away with the paywall for non-US readers and I know they did away with the print edition in December 2013. If they hadn’t, I’da worked out a deal with you: I’da sent you _The Onion_ and you coulda sent me _2000 AD_s. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/32 "2015-02-09T16:17:35Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Yes, the links went to Onion stories, but that was my point. [Harper Lee To Publish ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ Sequel](http://www.theonion.com/articles/harper-lee-to-publish-to-kill-a-mockingbird-sequel,37936/) and [Therapy Kangaroo Kicked Out Of McDonald’s](http://www.theonion.com/articles/therapy-kangaroo-kicked-out-of-mcdonalds,37940/) both go to articles “from The Onion”, but are in fact actual events that were in the mainstream news lately. They aren’t “articles”, they’re mock responses from imaginary people to real news events. Of course, when someone starts posting an Onion story as though it was real, it’s an actual _article_ and not “Oh my God, look at what Sandra Ingles, Dog Groomer thought about this headline!” ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/33 "2015-02-09T16:19:16Z")
To me, the columnists were always the funniest part, with the headlines being very hit or miss. I mean, the T. Herman Zwiebel, Smoove B, Herbert Kornfeld and Jim Anchower columns pretty much always made me laugh. The Jean Tisdale ones were more cringe-worthy than anything, having known people like that. The headlines were always best when they were current events, but taken to some absurd extreme. The Reagan Pyramid one was very funny, as was the Very Special Forces one. A lot of the more recent ones are less absurd, and more… mean(?) or negative than anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/34 "2015-02-09T16:26:10Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I think they did away with the paywall for non-US readers and I know they did away with the print edition in December 2013. If they hadn’t, I’da worked out a deal with you: I’da sent you _The Onion_ and you coulda sent me _2000 AD_s. Dammit. And I also have a spare 4 or 500 2000Ads I was trying to get rid of too… ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/35 "2015-02-09T16:31:34Z")
The Onion was funnier when they had Smoov B and Herbert Kornfeld from Accountz Reeceevable. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/36 "2015-02-09T16:41:29Z")
I think that they were good at producing enough material for a funny paper on a weekly basis; new content daily has watered down the website’s quality. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/37 "2015-02-09T16:51:20Z")
I was a UW-Madison student from 92-96 so The Onion remains near and dear to my heart. One thing that I’ve noticed is that if you get the The Onion’s Facebook updates in your feed about half the time they are (intentionally) publishing links to old articles. So if you don’t notice that the article is old you get the impression they are repeating themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/38 "2015-02-09T19:16:36Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Yes, the links went to Onion stories, but that was my point. [Harper Lee To Publish ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ Sequel](http://www.theonion.com/articles/harper-lee-to-publish-to-kill-a-mockingbird-sequel,37936/) and [Therapy Kangaroo Kicked Out Of McDonald’s](http://www.theonion.com/articles/therapy-kangaroo-kicked-out-of-mcdonalds,37940/) both go to articles “from The Onion”, but are in fact actual events that were in the mainstream news lately. Yes, of course. The “American Voices” are fictitious comments about _actual news stories_. The joke is in the comments, not the stories. The Onion has been funny enough, often enough, for me to keep reading it for going on 15 years. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/39 "2015-02-09T19:29:01Z")
**Did The Onion used to be funnier?** Yes. I’ve followed it since the early paper 90’s, and I too agree that changing to “daily” was the mistake. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168/40 "2015-02-09T19:30:34Z")
Also- I still mourn the H-Dog. That column was funny! And written by a woman, btw. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-onion-used-to-be-funnier/712168.md?page=3)