Ten Things You Might Not Know About Gaffes-- Part 6

9.  OOPS, WRONG END ZONE:  Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall picked up a loose ball during an Oct. 1964 game and scampered 66 yards for a TD, only to find he ran the wrong way and scored a safety for the appreciative SF 49ers.

The same thing happened in the 1929 Rose Bowl when the University of California's Roy Riegels ran a fumble nearly 70 yards before teammates stooped him before going into the end zone.  Georgia Tech tackled him on the one yard line and got a safety the next play.

Riegels learned to live with it and in 1964, wrote a letter to Marshall saying, "Welcome to the Club."

10.  NOT REALLY:  Al Gore committed a major gaffe by claiming that he invented the INTERNET, or so everyone thinks.  In a 1999 interview, Gore said: "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet."  Actually he didn't say he invented it.  He took the initiative for its invention.

Two Internet pioneers, Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf, wrote: "Al Gore was the first political leader to recognize the importance of the Internet and to promote and support its development."

Thanks, Al.  --DaCoot

Ten Things You might Not Know About Gaffes-- Part 5

7.  Former IRS honcho LOIS LERNER, under fire for accusations that her agency had targeted conservative groups, made a strange statement:  "I'm not good at math."  But, she knew enough about arithmetic to take the Fifth before Congress.

8.  One of the most infamous mistakes was apparently only in hindsight.  The "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" banner on the USS Abraham Lincoln for President George W. Bush's May 1, 2003, speech declaring an end of major military operations in Iraq, is now considered a blatant gaffe  Newspapers at the time barely even mentioned it.

However, the Iraq insurgency continued on for years afterwards (even now).

--Cooter

Ten Things You Didn't Know About Gaffes-- Part 4

5.  MOVIE PROMOTION  often come up with gaffes.  Take for instance the new Indian (India) film "Bang Bang!" which is set to be released Oct. 2nd.  It is violent and to be released on Gandhi Jayanti, a holiday celebrated in India every year to mark the birth of Mohandas Gandhi, a champion of nonviolence.

Paramount Australia recently advertised the new "Teenage Mutant Turtles" film by tweeting a poster of the turtles flying out of an exploding skyscraper, with the release date of September 11th.

6.  And speaking of SEPTEMBER 11TH gaffes, Esquire.com accidentally ran a headline reading "Making Your Morning Commute More Stylish" next to a photo of a man falling out of one of the Twin Towers.  The Tumbledown Golf Course in Wisconsin apologized for their special $9.11 golf rate to "commemorate" Sept. 11.

But perhaps the worst came within hours of the attack when British bureaucrat Jo Moore realized that the events in America were so distracting that any bad news at home might be overlooked.  "It is now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury," she said in an e-mail. After it got out, she said she was very sorry.

Ten Things You Didn't Know About Gaffes-- Part 3

3.  During the 2012 presidential campaign, MITT ROMNEY committed numerous gaffes that put his extreme wealth in an unfavorable light, including his comment that 47 percent of Americans are "dependent upon government" and his offer of a $10,000 bet with a debate opponent.

Less publicized  was a 2011 statement in which he actually misstated his own name.  At the start of a 2011 debate, CNN's Wolf Blitzer said: "I'm Wold Blitzer, and yes, that's my real name."  Romney then said : "I'm Mitt Romney--and yes, Wolf, that's also my first name."  But Romney's first name isn't Mitt, that's his middle name.  His first name is Willard.

Just trying to be a smart-aleck I guess.

4.  And then there's the man who beat Romney, President Barack Obama, who has visited all "57 states" and suggesting that Charleston, S.C., Savannah, Ga.,, and Jacksonville, Fla. are on the Gulf Coast.

But perhaps his most painful gaffe came in a 2011 speech to the troops when he referred to Medal of Honor recipient killed in Afghanistan as if he were still alive.  He later called the family to apologize.

--Cooter

Ten Things You Might Not Know About Gaffes-- Part 2

1.  He's not one of the key political figures of the 20th century, but a billboard in India intending to honor South Africa's Nelson Mandela after his death in 2013 mistakenly used actor MORGAN FREEMAN's photograph.  At least it wasn't the one when he played "Driving Miss Daisy."


2.  On October 31, 2000, German Chancellor GERHARD SCHROEDER, paying his respects at the Vad Vashern Holocaust memorial in Israel with that country's Prime Minister  Ehud Barak, unfortunately turned a handle the wrong way and accidentally extinguished the eternal flame, which stands in the Hall of Remembrance for the six million Jews killed by the Nazis.

Barak tried to relight it, but failed.  A memorial employee finally relighted it with a cigarette lighter.

--DaCoot

Ten Things You Might Not Know About Gaffes-- Part 1

From the August 10, 2014, Chicago Tribune by those intrepid and mighty thorough researchers Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkofer.  I always look forward to these mighty interesting articles that appear every so often in the Sunday Tribune.

Gaffe:  Open mouth, insert foot.

"Monday marks the 30th anniversary of a major presidential gaffes when Ronald Reagan was joking during a microphone test:  'My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever.  We begin bombing in five minutes.'

"The remark was not broadcast, but it became public, infuriating the Russians.

And the gaffes continue.  Last month, Rep. Curt Clawson, R-Fla. was addressing two U.S. officials who are of Indian descent as if they were officials of the government of India and said: "I am familiar with your country.  I love your country."  He might have added, "I loved 'Slumdog Millionaire."

Of course, I make it a regular habit of saying stupid stuff.

--Cooter