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Headlines that make you go…Hmmm

A favorite regular feature on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno back in the early 1990s was the funny headlines that people would send in from newspapers across the country.

Here are a few of the memorable ones:

Most doctors agree that breathing regularly is good for you”

“Senior luncheon will no longer include lunch”

“MSI owner denies lying, admits not telling the truth”

“Turkey, manure pass through Senate”

When I was working as a TV reporter in Duluth, Minnesota, The Duluth News Tribune published a story about a group of young girls who suffered serious injuries while visiting a water park.  The headline wasn’t mean to be funny, but it certainly came across that way.

“Thirty Brownies Burned at Acidic Water Slide”

I never sent this in to Jay Leno, but I kept the article over the years, taping it up by my news desk to remind myself that a really great headline – sometimes even if a bit insensitive – makes people take notice.

So just like news stories, you can write a fabulous headline that will attract eyeballs. Here’s a great article with steps to help you do that.

“”120818-D-BW835-439” flickr photo by Secretary of Defense https://flickr.com/photos/secdef/7825811156 shared as a United States Government Work (PD)