Category Archives: Humor

when a blast of medicament is just the thing

Fun, History, Humor

I’ve been getting such a kick out of the Modern Mechanix blog lately. Anything with the tag line “Yesterday’s Tomorrow Today” sounds like it would be right up my alley, of course, but something about the presentation and choices make me laugh daily.

The format is pretty simple: a segment from an old science or engineering magazine is scanned in as a large image, and then transcribed into the blog post. Snarky comments are withheld (except on rare occasion), so the article (or ad, or snippet of inexplicable something-or-other) is left to make its own case. The magazines sampled range from old-and-hilarious (like the ad at the right), or recent (as the 70s) and kinda creepy.

Mind in the Gutter, Knickers in a Twist

Crime, Humor, Kitchen Sink, Oddly Enough, Plain foolishness, You have got to be kidding

Now, here’s something you don’t see everyday: Flushed Bra Causes Sewer Collapse. This was just so rich I had to quote the article here:

Flushed bra which caused sewer collapse

The bra was recovered from the sewer by engineers

A bra and a pair of knickers have been blamed for a flood and road collapse in County Durham.

Northumbrian Water said the underwear was flushed down a toilet and caused a blockage in a sewage pipe in Middleton-St-George, near Darlington. Heavy rain, together with a build up of grease and fat, caused the pipe to burst and the road above to collapse. The road will remain closed for days and Northumbrian Water estimates repairs will cost more than £15,000. The company has now urged residents to think carefully about what they flush away.

‘Offending items’

A spokeswoman said: “If the underwear had not been flushed down the toilet, this would not have happened. It was very irresponsible behaviour. When we dug down to inspect the damage, we found a bra and knickers had snagged itself across the nine-inch diameter of the pipe. There was also a heavy build-up of grease and fat, which contributed to the situation. We were forced to repair a 2m section of sewer and a 10m section of road was affected. These pipes are not designed to carry bras and knickers.” The spokeswoman said it was impossible to trace the owners of the underwear.

She added: “Unfortunately no-one wants to even touch the offending items. They will remain bagged for a time and then disposed of properly.”