A Florida man (who else) was arrested on Sunday in what is being called a “McDonald’s condiment attack.”
The man was staying at a Tampa motel with his girlfriend.
When the gf brought back the wrong order from McDonald’s, the man allegedly grew angry and struck her with plastic containers of McDonald’s “Sweet ‘n Sour” dipping sauce “in the head and face area.”
He’s been charged with a felony, since he was convicted in April of battering the same girlfriend at another motel.
There are a lot more details to this bizarre story, which you could use to tie this news item into just about any sales pitch. But that’s not my goal for today.
Instead, I just want to give you a checklist of spots to look for such stories, as well as a few examples of how to turn them into profitable emails or blog posts. Here goes:
#1 The Smoking Gun
I only discovered this one recently but it seems to have been pumping out bizarre tabloid news for decades. The front page only has a few stories at a time, and they don’t change often. But the ones that do appear are gold. It’s where I got the condiment attack story above.
#2 The Daily Mail
This English rag mainly has celebrity gossip, and trashy sunbed-tanned British celebrities at that. In between, they sometimes run bizarre stories with lots of interesting details. Such as the story that I developed into Severed ear fills a gaping hole for UK landscaper.
#3 Morbidology
This is a true crime blog. It features in-depth posts about rapes, murders, abductions, disappearances, unsolved mysteries, and gruesome events. Sample story: “The Death of a Nazi” (about a father who raised his son in a neo-Nazi stronghold and was later shot by the kid).
#4 Takimag
Takimag appears to be a kind of high-level Chateau Heartiste: racist, misogynist, and funny. I don’t endorse the views but I read it for a jolt. It’s where I got the inspiration for The bland conspiracy behind the Great Awokening.
#5 The New York Post
This the American version of The Daily Mail. It’s got lots of political outrage and celebrity gossip, but occasionally also something genuinely bizarre. Such as for example, the gem that lead to my post Overweight passenger forces flight attendants to wipe his butt.
#6 Quilette
This site seems to be a right-wing intellectual sinkhole. Lots of earnest hand-wringing. But also an occasional interesting and provocative story. It’s where I got the hook for my Naked yoga for lonely, bearded old men post.
So now you know where to get your fix of bizarre stories. Which you can throw, almost verbatim, into your daily emails. Or into your advertorials. And if you want to see some examples of advertorials that kick of with similarly bizarre stories, then check out the following:
The man was staying at a Tampa motel with his girlfriend.
When the gf brought back the wrong order from McDonald’s, the man allegedly grew angry and struck her with plastic containers of McDonald’s “Sweet ‘n Sour” dipping sauce “in the head and face area.”
He’s been charged with a felony, since he was convicted in April of battering the same girlfriend at another motel.
There are a lot more details to this bizarre story, which you could use to tie this news item into just about any sales pitch. But that’s not my goal for today.
Instead, I just want to give you a checklist of spots to look for such stories, as well as a few examples of how to turn them into profitable emails or blog posts. Here goes:
#1 The Smoking Gun
I only discovered this one recently but it seems to have been pumping out bizarre tabloid news for decades. The front page only has a few stories at a time, and they don’t change often. But the ones that do appear are gold. It’s where I got the condiment attack story above.
#2 The Daily Mail
This English rag mainly has celebrity gossip, and trashy sunbed-tanned British celebrities at that. In between, they sometimes run bizarre stories with lots of interesting details. Such as the story that I developed into Severed ear fills a gaping hole for UK landscaper.
#3 Morbidology
This is a true crime blog. It features in-depth posts about rapes, murders, abductions, disappearances, unsolved mysteries, and gruesome events. Sample story: “The Death of a Nazi” (about a father who raised his son in a neo-Nazi stronghold and was later shot by the kid).
#4 Takimag
Takimag appears to be a kind of high-level Chateau Heartiste: racist, misogynist, and funny. I don’t endorse the views but I read it for a jolt. It’s where I got the inspiration for The bland conspiracy behind the Great Awokening.
#5 The New York Post
This the American version of The Daily Mail. It’s got lots of political outrage and celebrity gossip, but occasionally also something genuinely bizarre. Such as for example, the gem that lead to my post Overweight passenger forces flight attendants to wipe his butt.
#6 Quilette
This site seems to be a right-wing intellectual sinkhole. Lots of earnest hand-wringing. But also an occasional interesting and provocative story. It’s where I got the hook for my Naked yoga for lonely, bearded old men post.
So now you know where to get your fix of bizarre stories. Which you can throw, almost verbatim, into your daily emails. Or into your advertorials. And if you want to see some examples of advertorials that kick of with similarly bizarre stories, then check out the following: