# So if you worked at Mcdonald's , would you recognize the assassin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 10, 2024, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441 "2024-12-10T12:50:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [December 10, 2024, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/61 "2024-12-10T21:06:36Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I’m really surprised at the number of people with face blindness. At least, in this thread it’s a lot! Yeah, if stats online are to be believed, it’s only supposed to be 1-5% of the population. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/62 "2024-12-10T21:08:01Z")
I would definitely have difficulty recognizing this man out in public but I don’t think I have what is called face blindness. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/63 "2024-12-10T22:26:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, if stats online are to be believed, it’s only supposed to be 1-5% of the population. I’m definitely not face blind - I can picture the guy’s face in the above anecdote I told right now 😃 (my embarrassment seared that moment into my brain - can’t remember his name, though). However what I am is generally forgetful and remarkably non-observant of things that I’m not interested in or concerned with. I can be walking twenty feet away from a bush and instantly notice a tiny little bird flitting half-seen in it and recognize it as a likely ruby-crowned kinglet. Or I can spit out routine chemical analysis results from the last several days of testing at my job of this, that or the other. But I can also one day notice a random stack of pallets in some corner of my job site, ask someone about them and get informed they’ve been sitting there for the last two months. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/64 "2024-12-10T22:30:55Z")
well, at least he was smart enough to stay out of BOLIVIA! > **[Childlike photo-fit leads Bolivian police to murderer](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/24/bolivia-photo-fit-murderer)** > > It is not the most chilling portrait of a murderer but you have to credit the artist's arresting touches ---
**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:** [December 10, 2024, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/65 "2024-12-10T22:41:59Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > However what I am is generally forgetful and remarkably non-observant of things that I’m not interested in or concerned with That is a huge factor. And is pretty well hard wired into each of us at whatever level. My recent ex-wife was quite proud of wasting zero brain bytes on anything not immediately relevant to her main immediate concerns. To my highly observant personality that resembled oblivious zombie-hood to everyone and everything going on around her. She was plenty smart and capable. Just very attention-focused / blindered. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2024, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/66 "2024-12-10T22:56:50Z")
> [@a6ka97](#): > > Younger person, but still wearing a covid mask? That would raise my eyebrows as something different than normal. This was my thought. If he was concerned enough to wear a mask indoors but then hung it off his ear to eat and casually use his laptop, that would be weird enough to take a closer look at him. Then you notice the jacket and backpack and remember the masked assassin you saw on TV. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/67 "2024-12-11T00:08:55Z")
Ronald McDonald recognized the shooter and called 911. The cop told him to _stop clowning around_. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/68 "2024-12-11T12:45:34Z")
[![](https://i.imgur.com/l0PZV8U.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/l0PZV8U.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/69 "2024-12-11T13:04:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, if stats online are to be believed, it’s only supposed to be 1-5% of the population. It’s not a simple two state condition. People have varying levels of facial recognition ability. Maybe 1-5% of the population can’t recognize anybody but most of the people that would fall below the 50% ability mark might consider themselves to be ‘face blind’. I fall in that category. My ability to recognize faces is weak but not missing. I wouldn’t consider identifying a person I don’t know if it mattered. Maybe even some people I do know. ---
**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:** [December 11, 2024, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/70 "2024-12-11T13:20:12Z")
Here’s the study, and it identified both major and minor forms of face blindness: > **[How Common Is Face Blindness?](https://hms.harvard.edu/news/how-common-face-blindness)** > > Study suggests condition affects more people than previously thought ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/71 "2024-12-11T15:08:46Z")
Is there evidence that is _actually_ real? That’s a horrible message for a major company like that to be promoting. “Don’t call in tips on BOLOs for murderers! That’s _snitching_!” Nope. They didn’t. That’s a fake post. > **[Burger King Didn't Post 'We Don't Snitch' About CEO Shooting Suspect's...](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/burger-king-we-dont-snitch/)** > > The fake post followed news of a McDonald's customer's efforts in spotting a possible suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's killing. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/72 "2024-12-11T15:17:34Z")
Damn. Wendy’s has posted some edgy things, I was hoping the King was actually being funny. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/73 "2024-12-11T16:14:24Z")
I don’t know… if someone’s sufficiently recognizable, it’s pretty likely that the workers might notice them. I mean, my nephew works in a coffee shop, and occasionally spots celebrities who live in Austin while he’s working. I work for a city government, and I’ve seen a fair number of local politicians and big-wigs in the course of walking to the bathroom, lunch, and elsewhere. The real question to me is who was so tuned in that they actually knew what Mangione looked like? I read the initial articles, and then a few days later, they’d caught him, and I was kind of amazed, because I never saw enough in the articles I read to actually know what he looked like. ---
**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:** [December 11, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/74 "2024-12-11T16:16:14Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > most of the people that would fall below the 50% ability mark might consider themselves to be ‘face blind’. I fall in that category. My ability to recognize faces is weak but not missing. I wouldn’t consider identifying a person I don’t know if it mattered. Maybe even some people I do know I hit 53%; but most of the time I was randomly guessing; or was guessing based entirely on beard and skin shade, not on face. And they were asking “have you seen this face a couple of minutes ago?”, not “can you pick the right face out of four similar ones seen last week, or yesterday, or even half an hour ago”? I can be talking to you for half an hour at a conference or party and not be able to recognize you five minutes later. If I appear to do so, I’m probably recognizing your shirt, not your face. I can see you every week for years as another vendor at farmers’ market and not be able to recognize you out of context. I once didn’t recognize my sister, who I’d lived with all my life, when she came home from three months at college with a different haircut. I do recognize a few people, even out of context; that’s why I say I’m “partially” faceblind. I’ve never been able to figure out why those people and not others; but even for those few, it takes more than a 30-second exposure to a picture. Again, I do think this board has a relatively high percentage of faceblind or partially faceblind people. But also again, in regards to the OP, there are people who are unusual in the other direction. And there are a lot of people who are moderately unusual in the other direction. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/75 "2024-12-11T16:27:24Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I hit 53%; but most of the time I was randomly guessing; or was guessing based entirely on beard and skin shade, not on face. And they were asking “have you seen this face a couple of minutes ago?”, not “can you pick the right face out of four similar ones seen last week, or yesterday, or even half an hour ago”? Much like this for me. Women who change their hair style or color often drive me nuts. I end up staring at them because of that hint of recognition but I can’t really work it out. One time I told a woman at work I thought she was someone else. Both had shoulder length dark hair, were of medium height, not real old or young. It turned out she was flattered that I mistook her for a woman apparently considered extremely attractive by others. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/76 "2024-12-11T18:10:17Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > That’s a horrible message for a major company like that to be promoting. “Don’t call in tips on BOLOs for murderers! That’s _snitching_!” I saw it purely as an attempt at humor. Similar to “snitches get stitches”. I say that _as a joke_, not as a reason to not call the police. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/77 "2024-12-11T21:07:32Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I saw it purely as an attempt at humor. Similar to “snitches get stitches”. Snitches get stiches is not a joke in many places. Its a open threat. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/78 "2024-12-11T21:26:40Z")
If snitches get stiches do [sneetches](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/seuss/images/2/20/The-Sneetches-dr-seuss-877107_302_425.jpg) get steeches??? ---
**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:** [December 11, 2024, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/79 "2024-12-11T22:29:00Z")
There’s one more conjugation of that I won’t post in the interest of Board decorum. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441/80 "2024-12-12T20:26:55Z")
New AP story says it was an employee who called in the tip: [McDonald’s employee who called 911 in CEO’s shooting is eligible for a reward, but it will take time | AP News](https://apnews.com/article/luigi-mangione-unitedhealthcare-ceo-reward-money-tips-c17b08531049edb381b954e6b876cfda) 🤷‍♀️ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-you-worked-at-mcdonalds-would-you-recognize-the-assassin/1011441.md?page=5)