North Alabama Newspaper Strikes Again with Hilarious Headline Blooper

An error in a North Alabama newspaper headline has people laughing...again. It's not the first time the newspaper has published a major mistake in a front-page headline, and although this recent mistake is funny, it's not nearly as hilarious as the last gaff. That blunder made national news and had the whole country howling with laughter. Here's what happened.

My face when laughing meme templatePhoto byimgflip

It was 2017, and Roy Moore was running in a special election for the U.S. Senate. During his campaign, several serious allegations surfaced against Moore. There were claims that he had assaulted several women and was known to pursue underage girls. These claims caused a huge rift in the Republican Party. Of course, this was headline-making news. That's when the Times Daily newspaper of Florence, Alabama, covered the story with their now infamous front page headline: "Party Divided Over Sex Clams." You read that right. Instead of "claims," the newspaper mistakenly printed "clams." By the next day, news about the headline blunder and jokes about Alabama "sex clams" had gone viral.

Headline blunder "sex clams"Photo byTimes Daily, November 11, 2017

So, what made us recall the great "sex clam" debacle of 2017? It was the front page headline in the Times Daily this past Wednesday, April 10. In big letters on the front page, the newspaper proclaimed, "Hanger Is Ready." Here's the problem with that headline in case you didn't notice the mistake right away. The story was written about the completion of a new building at the Northwest Alabama Regional Airport: an airplane "hangar", not "hanger." Of course, social media jokesters didn't fail to point out the mistake. When Jeff Williams shared a photo of the headline to the Facebook page, Airplanes and Coffee, Eric Bartsch replied, "Fixed it," with the amended version below.

Times Daily, April 10, 2024Photo byEric Bartsch (comment on Airplanes and Coffee Facebook Page)

In defense of the good folks at the Times Daily, mistakes happen. Heaven knows I've published a few blunders, myself. Newspapers that are still in print today are struggling to stay in business as the world goes digital. Most are short-staffed and simply don't have the resources to proof-read or edit as they once did in the past. That won't stop us from having a little fun at their expense, however. We'll still keep "digging" for the next big "sex clam" blooper as long as the Times Daily "hangs" around.

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