# Stuff you thought was a joke but turned out to be real **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 18, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955 "2003-02-18T20:52:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kantalooppi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a5b964/32.png) [@Kantalooppi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kantalooppi)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/1 "2003-02-18T20:52:37Z")
On another thread someone mentioned [Hutt River Province.](http://www.wps.com.au/hutriver/hut1.htm) First time I heard about Hutt River was in Pahkasika, that good old Finnish humor magazine (now sadly defunct) and I naturally thought the Pahkasika crew had just made it all up. I miss Pahkasika. But anyhow, I trust other people have also had the same experience of finding out that _Wait a minute, I thought that was a joke?_ ---
**Author:** ![skaterboarder87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/2 "2003-02-18T20:56:12Z")
I thought this thread was a joke but it turned out to be real. HIOOOO! ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/3 "2003-02-18T21:10:20Z")
My freshman year of college a friend and I were kicked back watching TV and most likely intoxicating ourselves. A long trailer promo came on for “Xena: Warrior Princess” and we laughed ourselves silly at it. I was sure it was some kind of parody. Imagine my shock when I actually saw the show airing a few weeks later. ---
**Author:** ![Mirasol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Mirasol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirasol)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/4 "2003-02-18T21:33:33Z")
Once as a kid I came home from school on April Fool’s Day, and my mom tells me that in order to save money, she and my stepdad decided to get rid of the cable for our TV. Sure, mom, I think. You’re not going to pull one over on me. But I turn on the TV to check, and sure enough we only had about 5 channels. I thought that this was still some part of the joke somehow. It took awhile until I was convinced that they really decided to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Pammipoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/87869e/32.png) [@Pammipoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pammipoo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/5 "2003-02-18T21:40:47Z")
September 11th… ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/6 "2003-02-18T21:41:59Z")
I thought that **Dinsdale** ’s [When one of your kids is lying](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=162858) post was a joke, but sadly I believe I am mistaken. It still sounds like a really poorly scripted joke from one of those dysfunctional family sit coms. ---
**Author:** ![Lilly\_Putt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Lilly\_Putt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lilly_Putt)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/7 "2003-02-18T21:50:48Z")
The first time I saw the video for the Spice Girls song “Wannabe” I was almost sure it was a sketch on “In Living Color.” MTV had just changed the font they use to identify song title, album, record lable…etc. It looked like the one ILC used. I’m still not sure it wasn’t a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/8 "2003-02-18T22:15:04Z")
I remember when “fish tacos” was a crude allusion to the vagina. I was surprised the first time I saw tacos that actually contained fish. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Hand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mr.Hand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Hand)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/9 "2003-02-18T22:15:12Z")
Those pictures of Michael Jackson’s face from when he was testifying, with that _think_ hanging from his nose. And NO!, I will not provide a link – I don’t want to scare you poor innocents. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/10 "2003-02-18T22:21:39Z")
The first time I heard the song “Who Let the Dogs Out” I was sure it was a joke or a parody, like those songs on morning radio shows. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/11 "2003-02-18T22:44:38Z")
A TV show called **L.A. Doctors** … ---
**Author:** ![Alto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Alto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alto)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/12 "2003-02-18T23:11:53Z")
When I was working in Hanover NH, I came across a copy of the Dartmouth student conservative newspaper. It had a version of Kipling’s “White Man’s Burden” called “The Straight Man’s Burden” which began, “Take up the straight man’s burden./ Show them it’s best to breed…” and ended “Those homosexual children,/half devil and half child.” I still find it hard to believe they really meant it. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/13 "2003-02-18T23:14:28Z")
I thought [Lizard Man](http://www.bmeworld.com/amago/bodmod/index.html) and [Tiger Man](http://www.guardian.co.uk/silly/story/0,10821,531386,00.html) had to be jokes. But not anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/14 "2003-02-18T23:20:08Z")
When Brent Musberger got fired from CBS. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/15 "2003-02-18T23:41:54Z")
The TV License vans. It took some convincing to get me to believe that there really are vans that drive around and can tell not only whether you’re watching TV but _what_ you’re watching on TV. Actually I’m still not convinced, but the TV license people claim it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/16 "2003-02-19T00:04:36Z")
When Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was first created. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/17 "2003-02-19T00:06:24Z")
In a football thread last season, someone mentioned that the Phildelphia Eagles’ fans were so rowdy that they had a branch office of the local courts in the stadium to facilitate all the arrests made during games. I assumed it was a joke: “How violent are Eagles fans? They’ve got a jail _in the stadium_! Har har har!” Nope, turns out it’s apparently true. Unless I’ve been double-whooshed. ---
**Author:** ![MissBungle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@MissBungle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissBungle)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/18 "2003-02-19T00:27:27Z")
That people CAN be born with tails. I still have problems believing it… ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/19 "2003-02-19T00:28:15Z")
_The Core of the Earth has stopped spinning . . ._ Honestly, I’ll just skip that and see Bruce Almighty. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955/20 "2003-02-19T00:34:04Z")
The first time I heard Creed’s _My Own Prison_, I thought that someone was doing an over-the-top parody of Pearl Jam and I laughed out loud. I didn’t laugh the subsequent 50 gajillion times I heard it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-thought-was-a-joke-but-turned-out-to-be-real/155955.md?page=2)