h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I am respecting this tread but it is not exactly clear what this thread is for.

Over the last 3 weeks you have been told a number of times. Fair enough that you can post ridiculously obvious news articles, that's your perogative, but nothing gives you the right to be rude ("Do'nt call me sunshine, sunshine", "what flew up your ass") and ignore the other posters objections, and then claim that you never knew.

I never said what flew up your bum stop making me out to be a horrid guy because I am not I am sorry if some of my comments offended you or others but see it from my point of view for a change.

I checked the news stories listed on teh first blob of the thread, and few of those appear to be obscure to me.

I guess the 'obscurity' factor is a meme that has developed in the intervening 11 months and 440ish postings since that first blob. Fair enough; I now know what is expected here.

So in the spirit of obscurity, I'll tell you of one of my favourites of many years ago...

Whilst watching a Yorkshire Television local news broadcast, one of the stories, which they attended with a full camera crew, was about a man's shed that caught fire and burnt to the ground. As you can imagine we watched this item with our mouths open in incredulity that they would report on somethins so banal. From that day on, a catch phrase developed amongst us group of friends whenever we were faced with some news or information that was utterly trivial - "Man's shed burns down in Huddersfield"

"what flew up your *nose*" then, it was still rude.

Okay I am sorry.

Does it really matter 'What news story has caught your attention today?' thread' covers alot it could be just what grabbed you today or an obscure news story the title of threads need to be clearer

Pardon?

did not quite here that uncharted666

GD - there's a similar phrase round these parts, stemming from one of Midlands Today's most ludicrous stories.

A Birimingham schoolboy, trying to get home by bus, was stopped by the driver as he boarded and was asked to pay an extra half-fare because he was carrying a hamster. Seriously. Since the boy had only the exact fare, he had to walk. Irate parents wrote to the bus company who apologised and issued the hamster with his own bus pass, allowing him free passage on any bus in the area: the bus pass was proudly displayed on the TV, complete with the hamster's name - 'Sweep' - and a photo. Of the hamster.

The TV news followed this story *all week*, from initial outrage to eventual hamster justice. So it's 'hamster with a bus pass' down our way

LOL Classic Trin

Well, I think perhaps that 'obscure' is not the only thing, but intriguing, obscure, odd, just plain daft, not something you might have read about.

Or, it must be said, an unusual or interesting take on a more usual story.

Buts thats just what I choose to post here, I guess if we sort this out now then in the future we will have a reference point, so what do others want to see this thread used for?

That hamster story is a lot more entertaining and unusual than a man's shed burning down though.

hamster stories usually are though, they seem to be one of those animals that only ever get included in silly stories!

Like the German police being called out to a guy whose hamster was stuck in the printer. At least I think the police was called out.

yup!

and another odd one for today:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/21/wow_virtual_plague/

virtual plague in World of Warcraft on line. Is this the first epidemic disease in the Virtual World?

This may not say it needs to be obcscure stories. But you can imagine it would be rather bad thread if every day you had 20 people all post the identical "top of the news" story.

No need to imagine it, unfortunately. Or for twenty people, for that matter.

or even 1 person post the same story 20 times?

You're right, it'd be madness.