MBarnum's post above about his favorite title reminded me, indirectly, of the worst thing I ever heard someone say in a group of people.
I'm not sure I should actually post it, but perhaps it will spur a reminiscence or two of the worst thing you ever heard anyone say in a public place (or in private, for that matter).
WARNING: Apply a Raunch Factor of 5 to the following, 5 being the highest factor number.
I taught military journalism at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, from 1979-1984.
All the military services had their Public Affairs personnel trained at the Defense Information School (now located in Maryland) -- or, DINFOS, as it is known.
Each of my classes was made up of Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps students, most of whom were ages 18-22.
I recall during one class period, circa 1980, I was explaining to my class (I had an average of 18-20 students at a time) that each branch of service had its own unique ways of doing things. The class I taught was to prepare them to work on a base newspaper.
We talked about various base papers that were well-known and representative of diverse local military and civilian audiences.
One student said he hoped he'd be assigned to some base or other, so asked him why. He gave an answer. Another student did the same. And another and another, etc.
Finally, one of my Navy women (who was 19, funny and a bit of a plain jane) said she wanted to be assigned to the paper in Rota, Spain. When I asked why she said, "They have a Marine Barracks there. I want to find a Marine and spend my tour sitting on his face."
I had to give the class a break after the laughter died down.
Still....it was a pretty awful thing to say in a group of people, even if she was being honest.
