Pullet Surprise.
I’ve always thought the Onion’s coverage of God’s post-9/11 press conference was a shining moment—a bracing blast of righteous fury tempered with bleak humor that has you smiling at the audacity instead of the funny and fully intends there to be nothing but crickets heard at the punchline. Whenever a joke goes on too long these days, or an Area Man story gets recycled, I think of it, and I forgive them, for they are mighty. They did the impossible.
And, apparently, it almost got them nominated for a Pulitzer.
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Another brilliant essay, which appeared on September 12, 2001:
Why the Bombings Mean That We Must Support My Politics
Voltaire would approve. (In fact, I'll wager Voltaire wrote the original template on which this is essay based....)
I was in the awkward position of having to defend the awesomeness of the that Onion article a few weeks ago against someone who kept claiming that it was mealy-mouthed, weak-kneed and otherwise unimpressive. I couldn't quite grasp his argument, especially when they lead the nation in their response -- no one else got out there before them. Even SNL and the Daily Show waited until after this article to come back on the air.
The the other piece is pretty good, too.
The piece that did it for me was "Woman Bakes Cake with American Flag On It." I can tear up just remembering that one.