# Omnibus Stupid MFers in the news thread (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 5, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657 "2024-01-05T16:15:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 423
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8441 "2026-09-20T10:41:55Z")
[Seriously, is anyone vetting advertising ideas of late?](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/oxford-apologise-launching-united-93-132347296.html) > [@](#): > > Oxford United have apologised following the release of a clothing line featuring the phrase ‘United 93’ around the 25th anniversary of the [9/11 terrorist attacks](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/9-11-survivor-twin-towers-september-11-janice-brooks-b3047210.html). > > Nearly 3,000 people died during the 2001 attacks, when hijacked passenger planes operated by al Qaida hit New York’s World Trade Centre twin towers, causing them to collapse, and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. > > A fourth hijacked aircraft – United Airlines Flight 93 – crashed in a rural field in Pennsylvania after crew members and passengers fought back, stopping it from hitting another target believed to be the Capitol Building. > > Oxford noted that the Campus Collection range, which reportedly included an American football top and a baseball jersey marked with ‘United 93’, was introduced “without understanding of the historical context and associations”. > > The club was formed in 1893, and earned promotion to the former Second Division in 1993. > > A statement from the League One club read: "Oxford United would like to sincerely apologise for the recent launch of the Campus Collection. > > "The range was released without understanding of the historical context and associations. It should not have reached the point of sale and we take full responsibility for not undertaking proper due diligence. > > "We have removed the collection with immediate effect and are reviewing our approval processes to ensure nothing like this happens again. > > “Once again, we would like to put on record our sincere apologies for this error and for any offence caused.” ---
**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:** [September 20, 2026, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8442 "2026-09-20T12:13:27Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > NY high school suspends the student body president on the first day of school for showing up to class with a cup of coffee Back in my day when dinosaurs walked the Earth the only food/drink allowed in the school was in the cafeteria at lunch time. Not even water bottles in class, and _definitely_ not a cup of coffee! ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8443 "2026-09-20T12:39:39Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > in my day when dinosaurs walked the Earth the only food/drink allowed in the school was in the cafeteria at lunch time. Not even water bottles in class, and _definitely_ not a cup of coffee! Mine too, but honestly, fuck that. Let the kids hydrate if you expect them to be able to learn. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8444 "2026-09-20T13:50:00Z")
25 years ago in another country? And probably the least memorable crash (since it didn’t hit a building)? I’d cut the ad agency some slack. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8445 "2026-09-20T14:32:19Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > WA high school bans students from having their backpacks or purses with them during class, because that’s apparently easier than just confiscating phones if they go off. Related to the previous discussion: my first thought is, nothing to carry a tampon or pad in? They’re not all going to be wearing cargo pants. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Back in my day when dinosaurs walked the Earth the only food/drink allowed in the school was in the cafeteria at lunch time. Not even water bottles in class, and _definitely_ not a cup of coffee! Yeah, my first thought was “is it normal these days for students to be eating and drinking during class?” Apparently it is, though. (No, we didn’t get dehydrated. We had plenty of access to water between classes. Unless you’re out running in Texas summer sun, or something of that sort, you don’t need to drink every few minutes.) ---
**Author:** ![Jihi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jihi/32/17768_2.png) [@Jihi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jihi)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8446 "2026-09-20T18:24:46Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Yeah, my first thought was “is it normal these days for students to be eating and drinking during class?” > > Apparently it is, though. I’m glad I’m not the only one who finds the whole “eating and drinking” in class thing strange in a general sense. On a related note, I was in highschool in the late 90’s and I still remember seeing vending machines popping up on campus, outside of cafeteria settings, for the first time. I took notice of them at least. Currently I work on staff for a local college, (and yes I know there’s a difference between highschool and college students), and there are multiple vending machines scattered around campus in what seem like random areas. To the point where you’re never more than a minute or two walk away from one. It makes me wonder if there’s some sort of corporate/profit motive involved. What’s the point of buying a 20 oz. on your way to your next class if you’re not allowed to bring it with you? I’m not against the idea of adults bringing a bottle of water to class. But the whole practice does seem a little ‘off’ to me. I recognize though that could just be my “I’m getting old” gene kicking in. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8447 "2026-09-20T18:40:04Z")
While I have never worked retail I have my doubts as to whether this is the best way to handle a conflict with a customer: > **[Walmart customer, 77, beaten to death by parents of teen employee after...](https://nypost.com/2026/09/19/us-news/walmart-customer-bert-atienza-killed-after-teen-employee-parents-attack-him-over-cart-dispute/)** > > An elderly Walmart customer was beaten to death by the parents of a teen employee who he had argued with after accusing her of nearly ramming his wife with a shopping cart, according to his grievin… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8448 "2026-09-20T19:20:54Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Menstruating students who are really suffering serious symptoms should of course be excused from gym, just like any other genuinely unwell student. (And when that happens, the students who don’t menstruate should not whine that it’s unfair preferential treatment.) In that situation, the other students probably shouldn’t even know in what specific way the student is unwell (unless she tells them herself, of course). > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Back in my day when dinosaurs walked the Earth the only food/drink allowed in the school was in the cafeteria at lunch time. Not even water bottles in class, and _definitely_ not a cup of coffee! They don’t usually eat in class, but yes, they have drinks. Even in our day, though, when all food and drink was in the cafeteria, there were still a lot of kids who brought packed lunches. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8449 "2026-09-20T19:31:36Z")
Yes, we brought packed lunches. I nearly always brought mine, because you had to eat everything they gave you in the school lunch, and there was almost always something I couldn’t stand. (I gather that rule’s gone by the wayside too; and good riddance.) But we didn’t open up our lunchboxes in class. They were for lunchtime, in the cafeteria. I think we left them in the cloakroom, though that’s no longer a clear memory. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8450 "2026-09-20T19:42:16Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I think we left them in the cloakroom, though that’s no longer a clear memory. Cloaks? You are old! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8451 "2026-09-20T19:53:29Z")
Or a wizard/witch. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8452 "2026-09-20T20:04:07Z")
> [@Jihi](#): > > I was in highschool in the late 90’s and I still remember seeing vending machines popping up on campus, outside of cafeteria settings, for the first time. I took notice of them at least. My high school had vending machines, some with hot food, in 1965. We also had a staffed snackbar. What we did not have was a cafeteria or lunchroom. Everyone ate lunch at tables scattered about the quad or went to a classroom where their clique hung out. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8453 "2026-09-20T20:46:33Z")
back in the early aftermath of 9/11 United 93 was a topic for serious hero worship as the brave passengers supposedly wrested control from the bad guys and thereby saved the Capitol or White House. Kind of like the _Charge of the Light Brigade_: brave sacrifice in the face of near-certain death agasint insuperable odds. There were also a couple of people named who were somehow believed to have been the lead participants in the passenger revolt. I personally never put much stock in all that, but it was the standard issue attitude at the time. I could imagine some British marketer who knew just a bit too much more history than actual Americans remember believing that this tale of plucky can-do and brave sacrifice would resonate with the public. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8454 "2026-09-20T20:59:18Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Kind of like the _Charge of the Light Brigade_: brave sacrifice in the face of near-certain death agasint insuperable odds. (snip) > > I personally never put much stock in all that, but it was the standard issue attitude at the time. As I recall it, what I read about it said that some passengers on the plane found out about the other hijacked planes being used as missiles (not sure how, I can imagine a couple of ways), the news spread among the passengers, and they assumed they were going to die anyway. Enough of them decided to do something about it, not necessarily to save themselves, but to save other innocent victims on the ground/in the buildings. I haven’t read anything since then to debunk that idea. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8455 "2026-09-20T21:01:57Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > some passengers on the plane found out about the other hijacked planes being used as missiles (not sure how, I can imagine a couple of ways), Cell phones, probably. Or those seatback phones. The flight was delayed taking off for about 45 minutes, IIRC. So there was time for the news to be relayed to passengers. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8456 "2026-09-20T21:26:09Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Enough of them decided to do something about it, not necessarily to save themselves, but to save other innocent victims on the ground/in the buildings. They probably also had a better chance to save themselves by fighting back, too. That chance didn’t work out, of course, but there’s at least a chance of someone getting into the cockpit who could make a survivable landing in those fields instead of the absolutely-definite-crash the hijackers were heading to. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8457 "2026-09-20T23:53:18Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I could imagine some British marketer who knew just a bit too much more history than actual Americans remember believing that this tale of plucky can-do and brave sacrifice would resonate with the public. United 93 is a soccer team. They sell clothing as all sports teams do. The ad campaign had nothing to do with 9/11. The timing of the ad release was just a coincidence and, since they are English, they didn’t make the connection. Nobody was trying to make it about “sacrifice”. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2026, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8458 "2026-09-20T23:59:48Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > As I recall it, what I read about it said that some passengers on the plane found out about the other hijacked planes being used as missiles (not sure how, I can imagine a couple of ways), the news spread among the passengers, and they assumed they were going to die anyway. Enough of them decided to do something about it, not necessarily to save themselves, but to save other innocent victims on the ground/in the buildings. I haven’t read anything since then to debunk that idea. Right. The calculus changed from the usual hijacking scenario (the passengers become hostages once the plane lands somewhere (Cuba is the traditional location) - so sitting tight makes sense) to something far worse, where compliance does not good. So they acted. There’s enough of a recording of the last phone calls to be pretty sure that’s what happened. From the 911 Commission Report: > During at least five of the passengers’ phone calls, information was shared about the attacks that had occurred earlier that morning at the World Trade Center. Five calls described the intent of passengers and surviving crew members to revolt against the hijackers. According to one call, they voted on > whether to rush the terrorists in an attempt to retake the plane. They decided, and acted. > > At 9:57, the passenger assault began. Several passengers had terminated phone calls with loved ones in order to join the revolt. One of the callers ended her message as follows:“Everyone’s running up to first class. I’ve got to go. Bye.” > > The cockpit voice recorder captured the sounds of the passenger assault muffled by the intervening cockpit door. Some family members who listened to the recording report that they can hear the voice of a loved one among the din. We cannot identify whose voices can be heard. But the assault was sustained. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2026, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8459 "2026-09-21T00:07:30Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > United 93 is a soccer team No, it’s not. The team is Oxford United Football Club. 1893 and 1993 are important in the club’s history. And yes, it’s an English club, but it’s expected that the marketing team vet such things. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/8460 "2026-09-21T00:07:52Z")
> [@abcdefghij](#): > > Cloaks? You are old! I am old, but not that old. I’m pretty sure, though, that there was a closet space at the back of the grade school classrooms that we called a cloakroom; though we put our coats in it, not cloaks. The school was significantly older than I was, though I don’t remember, if I ever knew, how much older. I do know that the desks had inkwells in them, though we didn’t use them even when we started using ink pens. An occasional inkwell still had an old dried up bottle of ink in it. And there were two main entry doors, one of which had “Boys” engraved above it, and the other one “Girls”; though by the time I got there we all used both doors. They lined us up separately, though, every time we went from one room to another or in and out; boys in one line, girls in the other. And boys sat on one side of the room and girls on the other. Almost nothing was color-coded by gender, though. > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > As I recall it, what I read about it said that some passengers on the plane found out about the other hijacked planes being used as missiles (not sure how, I can imagine a couple of ways I think some of them had working phones. > [@Railer13](#): > > The flight was delayed taking off for about 45 minutes, IIRC. So there was time for the news to be relayed to passengers. I don’t think they can have learned about it while still on the ground, or I think they’d have been prevented from taking off. — oh, probably you mean that because they were delayed the other planes hit while that one still had a significant distance to go. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657.md?page=422) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657.md?page=424)