WHAT’S NO LONGER WEIRD ENOUGH TO MAKE THE NEWS.

WHAT’S NO LONGER WEIRD ENOUGH TO MAKE THE NEWS. This article by Daniel Engber on the Pacific Standard site is about Chuck Shepherd, who for over 25 years has been the proprietor of “News of the Weird”, a syndicated column which compiles news articles about weird events. Engber reports that the internet has led to such an overflow of weird news that Shepherd has found that examples of some kinds of stories are so numerous that they can no longer be considered weird.

Shepherd has maintained since 2003, an official list of things that are “No Longer Weird.” Engber gives some examples: Number 8: “Hunters Shoot Each Other.” Number 36: “Pack of Animals Breaks Into Liquor Cabinet or Fermenting Vat, Get Drunk.” Number 64: “Impostor Cop Has Car With Flashing Light, Stopping Motorists, Accidentally Stops Real Cop.”

Here is a link to Shepherd’s list of 66 categories of items that he no longer considers weird.