# Does anyone else find this funny as hell? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 2, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-find-this-funny-as-hell/172650 "2003-05-02T16:01:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wyld\_Stallyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Wyld\_Stallyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wyld_Stallyn)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-find-this-funny-as-hell/172650/1 "2003-05-02T16:01:37Z")
So I clicked on a [link](http://msnbc.com/news/897268.asp) for a news story trumpetting the capture of top Iraqi personnel, and the reference pictures used for the article are the playing cards. Amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-find-this-funny-as-hell/172650/2 "2003-05-02T17:06:57Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-find-this-funny-as-hell/172650/3 "2003-05-02T17:21:48Z")
I believe it simply gives a quick reference as to their importance. We may not know the man but the card quickly lets us know if the arrest is of any significance. Jack of Diamonds… woohoo! Three of Clubs… big whoop. ---
**Author:** ![merge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9f8e36/32.png) [@merge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merge)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-find-this-funny-as-hell/172650/4 "2003-05-02T18:08:13Z")
I don’t know what the hell is going on… I saw like 7 Aces… and all spades!!! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-find-this-funny-as-hell/172650/5 "2003-05-02T18:35:48Z")
The card thing was always weird, and now it’s getting weirder. I can’t check my e-mail without somebody trying to sell me a pack. ---
**Author:** ![Spurious\_George](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Spurious\_George](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spurious_George)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-find-this-funny-as-hell/172650/6 "2003-05-02T18:46:08Z")
I just find it really weird that the cards are what they’re using as the official photos for these guys. They don’t have any other photos of them? And wouldn’t it really confuse someone who had no idea about the whole deck of cards thing? Even Jordanian TV puts the cards on-screen during their newscasts. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-find-this-funny-as-hell/172650/7 "2003-05-02T20:40:03Z")
When I heard they were using playing cards, all I could think of was Bill Kilgore dealing out death cards. “Two of Diamonds…Three of Clubs”… This is more like trading cards…“Hey I’ll trade you a Tariq Aziz for a Chemical Ali!” GIN! ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-find-this-funny-as-hell/172650/8 "2003-05-02T22:51:27Z")
Friday poker nights. . . I’ll see your Tariq Aziz and raise you an Amer al-Saadi! Tripler I call! ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-find-this-funny-as-hell/172650/9 "2003-05-03T00:08:16Z")
FWIW, the “enemy heads on playing cards” thing has been used in previous wars, back until WWII even, I think. It’s not so much that they don’t have any better pictures, but a deck of cards can easily be distributed to each and every soldier. And no, I didn’t find the pictures of the cards in the linked article particularly hilarious, myself. ---
**Author:** ![waddamaroon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/41988e/32.png) [@waddamaroon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waddamaroon)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-find-this-funny-as-hell/172650/10 "2003-05-03T00:23:39Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Coldfire:** _ > And no, I didn’t find the pictures of the cards in the linked article particularly hilarious, myself. The pictures themselves aren’t at all funny. The fact that MSNBC can’t do any better than to publish the pictures on the cards is. I figured MSNBC might have a budget that would allow for a better picture. ---
**Author:** ![PRNYouth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PRNYouth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PRNYouth)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-find-this-funny-as-hell/172650/11 "2003-05-03T05:46:54Z")
> [@](#): > > The pictures themselves aren’t at all funny. The fact that MSNBC can’t do any better than to publish the pictures on the cards is. I figured MSNBC might have a budget that would allow for a better picture. Nothing budget-related about it, I’m sure. In fact, look at those images again – looks to me as though they aren’t scans or “pictures” of the cards themselves, but graphics created by MSNBC for the website, using the same images that appear on the cards. Look, people, this isn’t that difficult. It’s a form of shorthand. Many people know and understand the most-wanted deck, and using those pictures at the top of the article is eye-catching and a quick way to let the reader know that these aren’t just run-of-the-mill Iraqi officials that have been captured, but higher-ups in Saddam’s regime.