Debunking Humor...

[Mendel]

here's why we can"t find the NIH visitors

(I know I've seen this before, I just hope it wasn"t here)

 

[JMartJr]

here's why we can"t find the NIH visitors

NIH = Non Intelligent Humans? I know where to find a couple of those, if you'd like to meet them...

 

[John J.]

Metabunk thread https://www.metabunk.org/threads/se...hris-bledsoe-over-the-capitol-building.14435/

What was Chris Bledsoe doing over the Capitol building?!

If he's been granted the power of flight, I'm going to start taking his claims a lot more seriously.

 

[Mendel]

What was Chris Bledsoe doing over the Capitol building?!

Looking for UFOs in Area 56? That's a new one.

(see https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/restricted-airspace-0 )

 

[John J.]

Looking for UFOs in Area 56? That's a new one.

Well, it makes perfect sense. Area 56 must be five better than Area 51, so a legitimate area of interest for flying UFO summoners.

 

[jdog]

On @flarkey's point about looming orb orthodoxy, I found this shirt design amusing -- the "There are four shapes" phrase is a deep cut from The Next Generation:

 

[FatPhil]

On @flarkey's point about looming orb orthodoxy, I found this shirt design amusing -- the "There are four shapes" phrase is a deep cut from The Next Generation:
View attachment 83996

Call me a stickler for precision - and, you guessed it, I use "there are four ${NOUN}" a lot in everyday conversation - but shouldn't there have been five shapes in that image in order for it to make any sense?

 

[Mendel]

Call me a stickler for precision - and, you guessed it, I use "there are four ${NOUN}" a lot in everyday conversation - but shouldn't there have been five shapes in that image in order for it to make any sense?

The original Lucky Charms had four.

 

[FatPhil]

The original Lucky Charms had four.

But it doesn't work if there are four.

 

[JMartJr]

But it doesn't work if there are four.

I'm missing why. Perhaps the elderly one-eyed black cat who cannot sleep through the night and who wishes to complain loudly about finding himself alone at 3 in the morning has dulled my reasoning skills...

 

[FatPhil]

I'm missing why. Perhaps the elderly one-eyed black cat who cannot sleep through the night and who wishes to complain loudly about finding himself alone at 3 in the morning has dulled my reasoning skills...

The fact that Picard doesn't look under duress makes the whole thing not work for me. He's being tortured at this point in the episode. Saying the truth - that there are four - makes things worse for him. So it's me that's not getting it.

 

[JMartJr]

Ahh... not being a STTNG fan, I only know the audio clip of him saying it... maybe this is better?

Although without seeing the episode, I suppose it is very possible that Picard would never say there were the incorrect number of lights, and there WERE four, in which case anybody feel free to edit it again!

Also, interesting case of human misperception, I did not even notice the T-shirt to the lower left until well into editing it. Prior to that, I would have confidently asserted that there was no shirt based on the old "I know what I saw!" sense of false confidence...

 

[Mendel]

I did not even notice the T-shirt to the lower left until well into editing it

you would have to torture me for me to admit there's a t-shirt in the lower left corner (my left, not Picard's left)

 

[JMartJr]

you would have to torture me for me to admit there's a t-shirt in the lower left corner (my left, not Picard's left)

I am definitely pleading the elderly one-eyed black cat who cannot sleep through the night and who wishes to complain loudly about finding himself alone at 3 in the morning on this one.

 

[John J.]

I've been reading stuff here for a couple of years or so.
Often I've encountered subjects that are new to me or things I don't fully understand:
Arboreal wildlife in Indonesia, Bayesian analysis, implications of the theories of relativity, the mechanical mounts of infra-red sensors.
I've tried to keep up.

But, re. posts # 3646 to # 3654, what the actual flipping flip are any of you going on about?
I have absolutely no idea

 

[Ann K]

But, re. posts # 3646 to # 3654, what the actual flipping flip are any of you going on about?

It would appear to be Star Trek stuff. In other words, best ignored.

 

[JMartJr]

That right there? Brutal!

 

[Mendel]

But, re. posts # 3646 to # 3654, what the actual flipping flip are any of you going on about?
I have absolutely no idea

Star Trek: TNG's "There Are Four Lights" Meaning & Why It's Still Quoted 32 Years Later
https://screenrant.com/star-trek-tng-there-are-four-lights-why-quote-important/

It would appear to be Star Trek stuff. In other words, best ignored.

I think you're underestimating Star Trek: The Next Generation

 

[Kyle Ferriter]

Americans for Safe Aerospace need to start thinking globally.

Source: https://youtube.com/shorts/vLwBiDtPo_8?si=U8TqV3PXHEEri-EX

It's a shame the video didn't start like 30 seconds earlier before its shape shifted from a small metallic orb into this mundane object, perhaps as some sort of cloaking/disguise method.

 

[John J.]

That right there? Brutal!

Has Phil Oakey been weight training? Is he angry because he's had to work in an abattoir while the Human League are on hiatus? What's it got to do with Leprechaun-endorsed breakfast cereals?

 

[RTM]

You were working as a butcher in an abattoir, doesn't have the same ring to it as "you were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar".

 

[jdog]

It would appear to be Star Trek stuff. In other words, best ignored.

Oof, a real "Darmok on the ocean" moment, am I right, guys?

 

[Mendel]

Oof, a real "Darmok on the ocean" moment, am I right, guys?

On the other hand, @Ann K's take on the fandom seems correct.

 

[John J.]

...a real "Darmok on the ocean" moment, am I right, guys?

I think "John J. perplexed at Metabunk" is closer, but maybe it's not allegorical enough
(had to look up the referenced quote, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darmok).

 

[John J.]

You were working as a butcher in an abattoir, doesn't have the same ring to it as "you were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar".

Oh I don't know, it might have potential...
Sultry blonde woman sashays toward camera;

I was working as a butcher in an abattoir, when I met you
But even then I knew I'd start my own slaughterhouse, either with or without you...

On second thoughts, RTM's right.

 

[JMartJr]

Here, let's make Star Trek a bit more relatable for MetaBunkers who are not into it...

 

[RTM]

 

[Mendel]

https://bignewsnow.substack.com/

 

[FatPhil]

If this is how you're going to explain to me how your AI is doing a good job, please stop explaining to me how your AI is doing a good job:

img link: https://junkcharts.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341e992c53ef02e861085397200d-pi
via: https://www.junkcharts.com/junk_charts/2025/08/they-wont-tell-you-why-they-did-it.html

And even worse:

img link: https://junkcharts.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341e992c53ef02e861085481200d-pi

 

[Mendel]

If this is how you're going to explain to me how your AI is doing a good job, please stop explaining to me how your AI is doing a good job:

Cloudflare is recalcitrant. Your images:

Source: https://x.com/EgeErdil2/status/1953505551570415718

 

[Gary C]

 

[Gary C]

Paranormal Investigator: "Holy crap! I've never been so scared in a haunted house."

Interviewer: "Was the presence demonic or spiritual?"

Paranormal Investigator: "No it was Joey the boom operator. He keeps texting with his girl friend, nearly clobbered me with the microphone six times!"

Director: "CUT!!!"

GAC

 

[JMartJr]

Not sure how to start debunking this one. Pretty obviously a balloon, or starlink flares, or possible a reflection in the camera lens. But I can't buy it as a real video since the doorbell cam pans right there near the end...

 

[John J.]

Not sure how to start debunking this one. Pretty obviously a balloon, or starlink flares, or possible a reflection in the camera lens.

Many of us are perhaps not as familiar with the effects of sunlight reflecting on pelicans as we should be.
And I've read stuff by this bloke who flies all sorts of extravagant kites and he seemed quite resourceful; I suppose we can't rule out an elaborate hoax by some eccentric lone wolf character whose means and motives we can only guess at.

 

[Ann K]

Not sure how to start debunking this one. Pretty obviously a balloon, or starlink flares, or possible a reflection in the camera lens. But I can't buy it as a real video since the doorbell cam pans right there near the end...

I sincerely hope it's a hoax, or humanity is in a lot of trouble if the cats decide to turn on us en masse.

 

[Mendel]

Not sure how to start debunking this one.

Simplest explanation: someone misspelled "Quadcopter".

 

[John J.]

I sincerely hope it's a hoax, or humanity is in a lot of trouble if the cats decide to turn on us en masse.

If? If?

When has a cat ever sniffed out explosives or caught a drug smuggler? When has a cat ever carried a tiny barrel of brandy to an injured skier?
No-one in their right mind trusts a cat to guide someone across the road, we'd have visually impaired people up trees and stuck under raised garden decking all over the place.
If your neighbours let loose a small mechanism that covertly entered your house and then sprayed piss behind the sofa, you might question their goodwill.

(I do quite like them though).

 

[Mendel]

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lie7VYtf33Q

 

[JMartJr]

Many of us are perhaps not as familiar with the effects of sunlight reflecting on pelicans as we should be.

I believe I recognize that as a reference to the Kenneth Arnold Flying Saucer case! Just wanted you to know it was spotted and appreciated!

And I've read stuff by this bloke who flies all sorts of extravagant kites and he seemed quite resourceful; I suppose we can't rule out an elaborate hoax by some eccentric lone wolf character whose means and motives we can only guess at.

Can't figure this reference at all.

 

[Ann K]

If? If?

When has a cat ever sniffed out explosives or caught a drug smuggler? When has a cat ever carried a tiny barrel of brandy to an injured skier?
No-one in their right mind trusts a cat to guide someone across the road, we'd have visually impaired people up trees and stuck under raised garden decking all over the place.
If your neighbours let loose a small mechanism that covertly entered your house and then sprayed piss behind the sofa, you might question their goodwill.

(I do quite like them though).

I enjoy seeing those home videos where a cat will chase a terrified bear up a tree...