I Hate Email Clickbait Teaser Headlines

[silverscreenselect]

I received a "news update" email that contains teaser headlines designed to get you to click through to read the article (and be exposed to the ads). They usually have lurid headlines like "Mom Kills Husband and Dog and Stuffs Bodies in Trunk." I don't read those, but they also have vague obituary notices like "Beloved Soap Opera Star Dead at 73."

Today, I got one that startled me. It said "Crocodile Dundee Icon Dead at 90." My first thought was it's sad that Paul Hogan died. My second thought was that I had no idea he was 90. So, I went to Variety to check out the story. It turns out that Hogan is still very much alive. The "icon" in the teaser headline, was Burt the crocodile from the movie, who was believed to be over 90 years old. Not surprisingly, crocodiles that are not born in captivity don't have birth certificates, so it's difficult to be sure about Burt's age. But he was very old for a crocodile.

And Paul Hogan is still very much alive.

[Meth Gator]

Oi! I hope Burt partied hard during his long stay in the outback.