confusion

An Insider's Guide to the First 20 Minutes or So of the Totally Confusing Convention Kickoff

Hamilton Nolan · 08/28/12 03:05PM

Celebration time: Day-Two-Which-Is-Actually-Day-One of the Republican Convention is now, as we speak (type), UNDERWAY in Tampa, a hot parking lot located in a swing state. We can assure you that our investigations have revealed that absolutely no one, including those in official capacities, know where the fuck they are supposed to go right now. Here are a few of the most crucial "insider" factoids that you will need to know about this vital U.S. political institution going forward:

Katie Couric: "Can You Explain What Internet Is?"

Matt Cherette · 01/28/11 05:15PM

Here's a recently re-discovered oldie—and goodie!—to show how far technology has come in the last two decades. Watch this Today Show clip from 1994, featuring Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel's complete confusion about what, exactly, the Internet is.

Germany's Downfall Will Be Facilitated by This Roundabout

Matt Cherette · 01/13/11 02:20PM

Here's a video that someone took over the course of an hour of a roundabout in Erfurt, Germany. After recording the massive, embarrassing confusion that occurred during the hour, our videographer edited it down to the best (worst) two-and-a-half minutes.

Jargon Tweak Saves Magazines

Hamilton Nolan · 10/01/10 09:48AM

Adios, "Magazine Publishers of America." Hello, "MPA—the Association of Magazine Media." The name symbolizes "how readers can engage with magazines...through nontraditional means like Web sites, mobile devices, tablets, events, social media, books, retail presences and even branded merchandise." Oh...clearly.

Nobody Can Tell These Magazines Apart

Hamilton Nolan · 07/30/09 03:48PM

Harper's Magazine is a wordy, smart magazine for self-satisfied liberals. Harper's Bazaar is a glossy fashion magazine. But according to the publisher of Harper's, it's a constant battle to make sure people don't confuse the two.

'Times' Confusing Self, Us on Gay Marriage

Pareene · 06/16/08 02:36PM

Last April, the New York Times Magazine published a piece by Benoit Denizet-Lewis that seemed to be about how lots and lots of young men were getting gay married. 700 men age 29 or younger got hitched in Massachusetts. Trend! Or, as Choire Sicha put it in his excoriation of the story, "what else can the story be when an author points out a small group of people that are united by a common activity?" Now, California offers the gay marriage as well. So surely this trend of so many of the young gay men getting gay married must be rising still! Not according to today's Times!