Some of the most jaw-dropping moments occur during news coverage, sporting events, and even halftime shows. Anyone remember Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction?
Awards shows like the Oscars are also huge magnets for gaffes.
Perhaps one of the most embarrassing snafus at a prestigious awards ceremony happened at the 2017 Academy Awards when La La Land mistakenly won for Best Picture. Oops.
With an endless list of shocking moments throughout live TV history, Redditor groovetrain_ wondered what readers remembered most by reaching out on askReddit.
"What's the craziest thing you've seen unfold live on television before it could be taken off-air/censored?"
The examples below prove that when it comes to live television – anything can happen.
Instant Stars
"When I was around 7 years old in Panama City, Florida two teenagers hacked into the local news feed. We were in the living room watching the news and it started to break up and then went to snow. Before my dad could get up to mess with the rabbit ears, the signal resolved to show two kids in a bedroom looking at something off screen, then they looked at the camera. Once they realized they were on live TV, they started screaming and hugging each other and jumping around yelling 'we did it! WE DID IT! AAHHHHHHH!."
"After a few seconds the signal resolved and went back to the newscaster who apologized for the disruption. Then they just went back to reporting the news like nothing happened."
– GoliathPrime
"Nothing Compared" To This Moment
"Sinead O'Connor ripping up a photo of the pope on SNL, when the ep was rerun, it was removed."
– cassandracurse
We Interrupt This Program
"When I was a kid TV shows were interrupted all the time for high speed chases and police standoffs."
"One time a helicopter was tracking a guy who was driving through a field. The driver hopped out of his van(?) with a shotgun. The reporter was telling the helicopter to pan away from the shot but they didn't. The driver then put the shotgun in his mouth and blew his head off on live TV. The camera cut and came back to the in studio reporter who had a defeated wtf look on his face."
"I swear this led to less situations like this being shown on TV."
– calgarykid
Staged Disasters
"Probably the reporter in a canoe covering how bad the floods were, and then two dudes walk through the puddle she's floating in."
"Runner up to the guy pretending there were hurricane force winds and bracing himself while yelling into the mic. Same thing happened, some dudes just kind of walked by in the background."
"Both times the poor reporters had to pretend it didn't happen, and both times it was absolutely hilarious."
– Meegs294
High As A Kite
"I was watching a live broadcast in Texas. The reporter was saying that every year the police have to burn all of the drugs that they seize in all their drug busts. It was mostly huge piles of marijuana, probably a 10 foot high or so pile. The reporter was in the foreground and she mentioned that most of the police were off duty and volunteering to be there so that the blaze wouldn't get out of control. So all these police and this pile of weed are in the background and it is lit. As the pile starts roaring into a big bonfire, even I could tell that they were standing way too close to it. At least 30 or 40 police officers all standing really close to thisBonfire with their backs to the camera. So this reporter decides to ask one of them a question and walks over and taps one of them on the shoulder. This high AF police officer turns around as this reporter is asking him something and he looks directly at the camera with these squinty red eyes and goes 'whaaa the f'k?'"
– Blameking27
Fastball
"That time Randy Johnson vaporized a bird with his pitch. I was at a sports bar with my parents and half paying attention to the game when I saw the ball explode into a big poof of feathers."
– cordycepswitch
Pure Kanye
"'George Bush doesn't care about black people.' - Kanye West"
"I will never forget the look on Mike Myers' face."
– coffeehousebrat
kanye west news GIF by NowThis
Giphy
"I'd Rather Marry Steve"
"This is so stupid, but I was a youngin' when it happened. A guy was holding up a sign on the Today show (or some national morning TV show) that said 'Marry Me Julia' (or something like that)"
"Willard Scott or Al Roker or someone went up to the guy and said 'Tell us a little about Julia!' and the guy was like 'Nope, I'd rather marry Steve' and started making out on camera with the guy next to him. The host booked it and was like ooooookayyyyyyy onto the weather!"
"Prior to then I'd never even heard about being gay, let alone seen anything like it. I'm not sure why that image stuck with me though it was pretty shocking at the time."
– ----_
Janet's Boob
"It wasn't so crazy as much as the impact of it was to television, but the Janet Jackson boob was so bizarre. It seemed completely planned and everyone was unsure as to what exactly was supposed to happen, but it seemed like something that wasn't supposed to. It was all very puzzling and then the controversy started blowing up."
– EtherBoo
David Letterman's Brown Shower
"I swear I've seen it but I've never found it again. David Letterman was hosting the Tonight Show and he had a pair of ferrets on his desk. The zoo guy was talking about them and they freaked out and started running around his desk. Their leash got caught in the microphone so they started going in circles, defecating the whole time, even splashing David. They went to commercial and afterwards the ferrets were gone and David was cleaned up. I had never laughed so hard."
– cyberdrunk
Going Downtown On Julie Brown
"In the 90s, MTV was on in the background, and Downtown Julie Brown was hosting some sort of pool party weekend thing. They were going to commercial, so as she was talking to the camera, saying what was going to be going on after the commercial, some dude started getting closer, and started grinding up against her. Just as she was done, and before they cut to the commercial, she pushed the dude off her and she yelled 'Get the F'K off of me!'"
– wzl46
The Max Headroom Signal Hijacker
"I saw the Max Headroom signal intrusion the night it happened, I was hanging with some friends smoking and watching Doctor Who, it was so bizarre and we were so high that we weren't even sure we had actually seen it until a couple days later when it started showing up in the news."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Headroom_signal_hijacking
– DRybUGS
The Moment That Lives On In Infamy
"The Challenger exploding when I was in elementary school. The whole school was watching it on tv in the auditorium."
– catinreverse
"I live in Florida and my whole class watched it outside in the schoolyard. I was in 3rd grade. The teacher rushed us inside and we didn't really know/understand what was going on. I still see it in my dreams occasionally. And now when I take my kids to see launches, there is always that moment when I hold my breath."
– ABD4life
A High Speed Chase That Ended In Tragedy
"When I was a kid TV shows were interrupted all the time for high speed chases and police standoffs."
"One time a helicopter was tracking a guy who was driving through a field. The driver hopped out of his van(?) with a shotgun. The reporter was telling the helicopter to pan away from the shot but they didn't. The driver then put the shotgun in his mouth and blew his head off on live TV. The camera cut and came back to the in studio reporter who had a defeated wtf look on his face."
"I swear this led to less situations like this being shown on TV."
– calgarykid
L.A. Riot Violence
"The LA riots were really brutal to watch on television. They tried to not show any graphic violence but sometimes it just happened. You saw a lot of footage of people looting and running up and down streets throwing things and hitting people but nothing really bad until those men caught Reginald Denney stranded in his truck at an intersection."
"They smashed the truck windows and dragged him by his hair, I think, out of the truck and just stomped the ever loving crap out of him and the camera never moved. It was a news helicopter shooting down so you could see the entire intersection and it legitimately looked like you were seeing a man beaten to death right on television."
"And then when you thought it was over there was that kick and you just knew he was dead. You just knew no one could survive that and it was so upsetting and terrifying to see that kind of unbridled violence take place live right in front of you."
"And then came the helpers. A few men, one of them a very large black man came to Denney's rescue and the attackers scattered like stray, vicious dogs and they helped Denney. They saved his life."
"It was only a few minutes but until 9/11 it was one of the most dramatic things I'd ever seen on television."
– Maxwyfe
It connects people, ideas, senses or humor, creativity! Yes, we've got our fair share of deviants, murderers, and trashbag people, but we've also got decades of wonder to celebrate.
Newbies like to think using the internet for awesomeness is something they came up with, but the old heads are here to tell you the internet has ALWAYS been a complicated crash course in the coolest stuff ever.
So let's hop in the wayback machine and get our nostalgia on.
Reddit user ransom0374 asked:
"What do you miss from early internet times?"
So let's take that walk down memory lane, or if you're new-ish here on planet Earth, this is going to be a fun little "history" lesson.
If you're uncertain where you fall, here's a test:
"Badger, Badger, Badger, Badger..."
If you finished the song, you're probably going to remember quite a few of these...
Away Messages
"AIM away messages saying stupid stuff like 'BRB going to get some bagel bites.' "
"Don't forget to update your personal profile with Blink 182 lyrics and the initials of your school sweetheart and some ASCII. Browse for a new inappropriate buddy icon and strike up a convo with SmarterChild"
GiphyThe Unknown
"I miss the wild unknown frontier that the internet was."
"It seemed there was so much discovery to be had on the internet, and if you were good at the internet everyone thought of you as 'Hackerman' and you were like a God amongst your peers."
"It seems like there isn't anything 'new' on the internet anymore. No discoveries to be made."
GiphyThe Irony Is Not Lost On Us
"Variety. There's a popular tweet that says something like 'the internet has turned into four websites where on each one people share screenshots of the other three.' "
"I miss when you could search a term and there would be dozens of sites dedicated to it or forums especially for it. Now it's just ads, Wikipedia, and Reddit."
"Oh, and not having ads shoved down your throat every time you search a term or navigate to a page!"
"I know there were pop ups and banners, which weren't any better. But there was a sweet spot."
"There was a few years there where you could Google something and half the first page WASN'T sponsored ads that had nothing to do with what you looked up. And you could go to a website and it DIDN'T block the page with a full screen ad asking for your email to join their mailing list or save 10% on their merchandise."
GiphyFiguring It Out
"That all the webpages were just random people trying to figure out HTML."
"There really wasn't a corporate presence at all. It was just a place for people to experiment."
"You could click on a button and make a cardboard hand wave at someone's cats. You could dispense a coke from a machine in some dorm. It was dumb and fun."
GiphyEndless Learning
"The learning was endless."
"There were almost an infinite source of information from all over the world. If you wanted to find something all you had to do was search for it in Ask Jeeves or whatever and you'd find any website that had ever mentioned that thing."
"There were more than 10 different websites. And at least it didn't feel like I was being forced to sign up for a subscription after every click."
"There were so many fun, cute stores to shop. Now it feels like everyone dresses and decorates the same."
"I miss a lot of things about the early internet. I'm probably wrong, but it just felt safer than it does now?"
GiphyMaking Friends
"I was in my late teens when the internet was becoming accessible to everyone. Our one household computer was in the kitchen & facing in a way so anyone coming in could see your screen."
"I remember looking at someone's website and my Dad passing by to get something to eat, asking me if the person on the website was my friend."
"I miss those old days! The internet seemed endless & friendly."
GiphyA Base Level For Participation
"Most people were smart."
"In the early days (by far) most people on the internet were in college, either as a teacher or student. Beyond that, people had to to be in a lab or make their computer talk to a connected computer which was not so easy in the old days."
"It acted as a sort of intelligence barrier one needed clear to participate in internet things."
- tsoldrin
"Higher barrier to entry."
"I remember the fond days of SLIP and Trumpet Winsock when you had to know at least a little about tech to get on and participate."
"There was still stupidity, but it just wasn't as loud as it is now."
- dramboxf
"In the very very early days, pre-AOL, you needed skill and knowledge to get online."
"Then AOL came onto the scene an d anyone could get online at the push of a button."
GiphyGo Away Now
"I miss when what happened on the internet, stayed on the internet."
"You could turn off the beige box and go about the rest of your day without it affecting you."
"The fact that is only existed on a big computer in the house, as long as no-one was on the phone. It wasn't some all-encompassing thing."
- dienices
"The internet not following me around. When you logged off, you effectively put the internet away."
GiphyIt Used To Be...
"How people used to treat it."
"The internet was not just a novelty, but an amazing piece of technology that let anyone share anything. It was so wholesome and loving, with everyone still being amazed at what we could do now."
"Now? There's so many websites that are designed to make you angry and radicalize your beliefs. It's quantity over quality."
"There was a time when nobody on Reddit shared politics, when Facebook was for socializing, when YouTube was where people uploaded stuff they were passionate about."
GiphyWe Used To Love Yahoo
"Yahoo Answers"
"Yahoo Pool"
- inaclick
"I can't remember what it was called, but Yahoo had this great music video program where it showed popular artists, and some very unknown folks."
"I discovered some of my favorite artists having it play in the background all the time."
"Launchcast/Yahoo Radio. It was revolutionary for music streaming and the 1-5 star system worked really well. I preferred it over Pandora's up/down system."
GiphyOn a personal level, I want to go on record and say MusicMatch was the greatest music program in the history of life.
It just was.
I will die on this hill.
It was dopeness in all forms. MusicMatch Jukebox? Dope. Yahoo MusicMatch? Dope.
So what relics from Ye Olde Internet are you passionate about? Sound off in the comments!
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
The dogs owner shared the video along with a post asking professionals to shed some light on why he does what he does.
Owner-obliviousness as they gushed about how adorable it was made the awkward even better.
The owner explained the Frenchie often makes aggressive eye contact and licks his lips while he "plays air guitar"—which is what the family calls it—and how cute & funny they all find the behavior.
GiphyThe video was the dog, casually chilling, using his paw to rub the tip of his penis while staring awkwardly at the camera and licking his lips like a pup possessed.
Three hundred and fifteen laugh-reacts—at the time that I saw it—and only three comments:
1. a vet explaining that the behavior showed in the video was the dog masturbating while making direct eye contact
2. the owner giving a simple "thank you" and
3. the admins of the group closing the comments.
So, why am I sharing this with you?
Because Reddit user Drakmamman asked:
"Dog owners of reddit, what the dog doin?"
... and so now you get this whole article just so I had an excuse to tell y'all about a furiously fapping Frenchie, 'cause somebody else needed to know about him.
I cackled for a good 20 minutes imagining the family getting all giddy about their dog "playing air guitar"—making the little air guitar meedly squeedly noises while he played, maybe even playing along thinking they're enjoying a fun little game—but they're really just been giving a hair metal soundtrack to their dogs stroke sesh.
Something tells me now the owner knows what "air guitar" really is, they're not likely to rush and tell Reddit all about how they've been gathering as a family to watch cause it's just so cute.
That's what I'm here for.
Anyway, here's the stuff other people's dogs are up to. It's not fapping—or if it is, the owners aren't telling Reddit.
Partner Preference
Giphy"Wife just came home with the baby. Dog is acting like she's been abandoned for years running up and down, barking and jumping on everything."
"They'd only been out an hour and I was with her the whole time." - Single_Goose7015
"My dog does this too when my wife comes home. Like what am I, chopped liver?" - jackof47trades
"I feel your pain. My dog started howling mournfully when my partner went back to work last week… I was right there!" - TreatOutside
"Staring at the door waiting for the only human he cares about to come home (obviously not me)" - SnarkyRedhead
Herding Cats
Giphy"Probably trying to herd the cats."
"He's a border collie mix who's afraid of goats and sheep, but even after six years of living with them he still thinks he can control where the cats go."
"He's a good boy, he's very persistent, but not terribly bright sometimes." - TokesNotHigh
"After 8 years our border collie still herds the cats, and the vacuum." - psychologicaluse28
"Big heart, small brain. I have one of those dogs too. They are the sweetest." - Technobucket
Wretched Existence
Giphy"She has flung herself flat across the bed and is playing dead, quiet except for the occasional pitiful whine. Every now and then she lifts her head up and fixes a desperate look upon me, silently begging for release from her wretched existence."
"She's a bit overdramatic about having to wear a cone. The issue is an abrasion on a toe that she won't stop licking, which is making it worse."
"I've been alternating between bandaging it and having her wear a cone. She's been consistently a drama queen." - halfinboxes
One Hour
Giphy"Staring at me because their dinner time is in one hour and they need to start letting me know that, in an hour, they need to eat...in an hour, so I better not forget...cuz they're hungry, which is why they're staring at me...and it's almost dinner time."
"Just one more hour, And they want to make sure I don't forget. Because maybe I will."
"So, they need to remind me. By staring at me. Every day. One hour before dinner." - MotherOfFred
A Little "Light" Exercise
Giphy"Mine loves light reflected off watches or phones. And loves lasers."
"It's sunny and he sees light on the wall so he is bothering me to use my watch or phone so he can chase the light. I've spent the last hour doing it."
"I even got him a cat laser toy that's automatic for him and he runs himself tired as all hell with it. But he is STILL asking for it."
"Used the laser toy also too, so he is panting dripping tongue and still wants to play more..." - boomgoon
Vicious Predators
Giphy"Last night my dogs chased down and killed a rabbit in the backyard. They are usually so gentle; this was weird and unexpected."
"I watched the whole thing helpless because it was so fast. The rabbit screamed, it was insane."
"Now, I'm watching them sleep on my couch and can't help but think they just murdered someone."
"They are just vicious predators, right here, in my house. On my couch."
"But they snuggly as f*ck. This trips me out." - Atheist_Redditor
A Problematic Princess
Giphy"We have two chihuahuas. One is a 15 year old (quite appropriately) named Princess and one is a one year old named Charlie."
"Both have their own dog beds on the couch since they are spoiled."
"When Princess is feeling particularly moody or like asserting her dominance, she will drag Charlie's bed into her bed and lay on top of BOTH of them and snarl at him if he comes close to her personal space bubble/bed mountain."
"And when we tell her she can't have both beds and put his bed back to the side, she just glares at us. Lol." - mslm90
Shoe-nanigans
Giphy"She's currently in her cage resting after her great adventure."
"She managed to get upstairs and grab a hold of one of my shoes. Not just any old shoe, but one of the shoes I am planning to wear this weekend for my wedding."
"After running around, she dropped the shoe to chew on a shirt - at which point she was cornered, and then brought downstairs."
"Pup and shoe are both unharmed and doing well. My nerves, not so much." - still_interesting23
So ... what's YOUR dog been up to lately?
Want to "know" more?
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.