# I never wanted to smack the free press as much as I just wanted to. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 19, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-wanted-to-smack-the-free-press-as-much-as-i-just-wanted-to/317696 "2005-08-19T02:13:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-wanted-to-smack-the-free-press-as-much-as-i-just-wanted-to/317696/41 "2026-05-06T20:32:11Z")
Is 21 years the record for resurrecting a thread? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-wanted-to-smack-the-free-press-as-much-as-i-just-wanted-to/317696/42 "2026-05-06T20:47:22Z")
I would guess there have been some even longer bump-up gaps before in threads here. But, to the OP, I’ve always wanted to see a TV reporter get too TMI specific. _“How did it feel for you when that attacker’s knife went right in between the 4th and 5th rib and went into your spleen? Was it your spleen? Did the knife feel serrated? How deep was it, two inches? Did it feel squishy? Did it hurt more on the stab-in or pull-out?”_ Then we can finally get the backlash to the media. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-wanted-to-smack-the-free-press-as-much-as-i-just-wanted-to/317696/43 "2026-05-06T20:59:01Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Is 21 years the record for resurrecting a thread? No it’s not the record. Not that it’s a competition (though some seem to think it is, and bump old threads for little reason). ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-wanted-to-smack-the-free-press-as-much-as-i-just-wanted-to/317696/44 "2026-05-06T21:09:51Z")
Oh, I wasn’t criticizing or saying anything negative. I was genuinely curious. I don’t think I’ve seen an older one bumped. And I have reservations personally about bumping a 1 week old thread, but I wasn’t passing judgement on the person who bumped it. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-wanted-to-smack-the-free-press-as-much-as-i-just-wanted-to/317696/45 "2026-05-06T21:19:48Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Is 21 years the record for resurrecting a thread? A few days ago there was a 26 year bump. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-wanted-to-smack-the-free-press-as-much-as-i-just-wanted-to/317696/46 "2026-05-14T15:18:54Z")
I remember King asking Tip O’Neil, from faulty memory, “how does it feel to be so close to meeting the man?”. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-wanted-to-smack-the-free-press-as-much-as-i-just-wanted-to/317696/47 "2026-05-17T14:06:16Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I don’t think I’ve seen an older one bumped. On another forum (coding related, but it had a chat section) there was a thread called “The Incredible Sinking Thread”, where there was active competition to not bump the thread. It was, of course somewhat tongue in cheek, but being a fairly long running forum even when I joined in late 1999, and people still occasionally resurrected the thread many years later. It is now defunct, so I can’t check the times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-wanted-to-smack-the-free-press-as-much-as-i-just-wanted-to/317696.md?page=2)