Taken from
this book:
Some of the best two-headed headlines are those in which an inadvertent pun lifts the message from the blandly literal to the sublimely absurd:
DEAF MUTE GETS NEW HEARING IN KILLING
DEFENDANT'S SPEECH ENDS IN LONG SENTENCE
DOCTOR TESTIFIES IN HORSE SUIT
POLICE BEGIN CAMPAIGN TO RUNDOWN JAYWALKERS
POLICE DISCOVER CRACK IN AUSTRALIA
TUNA BITING OFF WASHINGTON COAST
STIFF OPPOSITION EXPECTED TO CASKETLESS FUNERAL PLAN
U.S. AUDIT FINDS FUNDS FOR YOUTH MISSPENT
MAN HELD OVER GIANT L.A. BRUSH FIRE
TRAFFIC DEAD RISE SLOWLY
U'S FOOD SERVICE
FEEDS THOUSANDS,
GROSSES MILLIONS
MILK DRINKERS ARE TURNING TO POWDER
S. FLORIDA ILLEGAL ALIENS CUT IN HALF BY NEW LAW
CARRIBEAN ISLANDS DRIFT TO LEFT
HERSHEY BARS PROTEST
When a newspaper goes out wearing the wrong banner, its messages can become unwittingly suggestive:
QUEEN MARY HAVING BOTTOM SCRAPED
IS THERE A RING OF DEBRIS AROUND URANUS?
PROSTITUTE APPEAL TO POPE
PANDA MATING FAILS; VETERINARIAN TAKES OVER
NUNS DROP SUIT; BISHOPS AGREE TO AID THEM
Sometimes the galley gaffe issues from a confusion in grammar:
BRITISH LEFT WAFFLES ON FALKLAND ISLANDS
EYE DROPS OFF SHELF
REAGAN WINS ON BUDGET, BUT MORE LIES AHEAD
LAWYERS GIVE POOR FREE LEGAL ADVISE
ENRAGED COW INJURES FARMER WITH AX
LAWMEN FROM MEXICO BARBECUE GUESTS
MINERS REFUSE TO WORK AFTER DEATH
JUVENILE COURT TO TRY SHOOTING DEFENDANT
FUND SET UP FOR BEATING VICTIM'S KIN
FINE YOUNG MAN CONVICTED OF MISDEMEANOR
TWO SOVIET SHIPS COLLIDE, ONE DIES
2 SISTERS REUNITED AFTER 10 YEARS IN CHECKOUT COUNTER
Occasionally, a deformed headline takes on a meaning that is exactly the opposite of the one intended:
AUTOS KILLING 110 A DAY; LET'S RESOLVE TO DO BETTER
And sometimes the headline illuminates the painfully obvious:
WAR DIMS HOPE FOR PEACE
IF STRIKE ISN'T SETTLED QUICKLY, IT MAY LAST A WHILE
SMOKERS ARE PRODUCTIVE, BUT DEATH CUTS EFFICIENCY
COLD WAVE LINKED TO TEMPERATURES
HALF OF U.S. HIGH SCHOOLS REQUIRE SOME STUDY FOR GRADUATION
CHILD'S DEATH RUINS COUPLE'S HOLIDAY
BLIND WOMAN GETS NEW KIDNEY FROM DAD SHE HASN'T SEEN IN YEARS
MAN IS FATALLY SLAIN
ENDFIELD COUPLE SLAIN: POLICE SUSPECT HOMICIDE
SOMETHING WENT WRONG IN JET CRASH, EXPERT SAYS
DEATH CAUSES LONELINESS, FEELINGS OF ISOLATION