[Insert your own headline...words fail me]
Category: Just Plain Silly...
Posted Saturday, February 14, 2004 at 09:57 AM [GMT-6]

I try not to nitpick the reporting in our local newspaper...I really do. I doubt that I could do any better, day in and day out. But every now and then, something appears that defies my best attempts to overlook it. To wit, this paragraph lifted from a front-page story in today's edition, about a traffic accident that occurred last night:

The truck was pulling a small U-Haul trailer, which also overturned and opened revealing a musk ox, believed stuffed.

A musk ox? Believed stuffed?

See what I mean?

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Comments

You're right, this does leave the reader wondering. Was the Ox just full after a big meal at Rip Griffin's truck stop....or was it in fact taxidermied? Inquiring minds want to know.

Posted by: Wallace at February 14, 2004 10:20 AM

The picture on the front page of the 2/15/04 MRT was apparently of that same truck and trailer. They are both resting on their tops, and remarkably, they are still attached! That was one hefty hitch!

As for whether the musk ox was stuffed, the reporter was probably relying on an interview or a police report and couldn't personally make the determination. I would prefer that they hedge when they are uncertain rather than say something definitively when they really don't know for sure.

Posted by: George at February 15, 2004 02:17 PM

I suppose you're right, George...there's just too much at stake to indulge in wild speculation.

Posted by: Eric at February 15, 2004 02:38 PM
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