'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by dang on Friday March 05, 2021 @05:38PM (#26363141)

The submitter posted the title that the article had at the time. Then the BBC changed it there. Then a moderator changed it here. And then a moderator (this one!) marked this subthread—which was stuck to the top of the page, gathering mass and choking out anything interesting—off topic.

I don't fault the comment for that so much as the upvotes, but downweighting top subthreads that are off-topic and/or generic in uninteresting ways is probably the highest-leverage intervention that moderators do here. Unfortunately it requires human intervention, and we don't see all the threads, so if anyone notices an off-topic or generic top subthread before we do, letting us know at [email protected] is super helpful.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by codetrotter on Friday March 05, 2021 @10:48AM (#26358145)

For future reference, the current title on HN is:

> 'Floating ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker

https://archive.is/JcBUY

And the current title on BBC is:

> 'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker

https://archive.is/AyAK4

Interestingly though, because of the quotation marks I understood “floating” to mean, as intended, that it looked like the ship was in the air and didn’t even think about the possible ambiguity until I read your comment about it.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by jmkd on Friday March 05, 2021 @11:28AM (#26358675)

BBC article at the time of posting was indeed 'Floating ship'

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by judge2020 on Friday March 05, 2021 @11:40AM (#26358843)

For reference: https://twitter.com/KeirGiles/status/1367742771017224196

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by dvtrn on Friday March 05, 2021 @12:57PM (#26359766)

I might even go so far as to say that that is their desirable default state.

As long as the front doesn’t fall off.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by lostlogin on Friday March 05, 2021 @01:02PM (#26359840)

If anyone doesn’t get the reference, this is required viewing. It’s gold. https://youtu.be/3m5qxZm_JqM

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by mrec on Friday March 05, 2021 @01:56PM (#26360504)

Marvellous; I'd never seen this.

The format and humour remind me very strongly of the Bird & Fortune (aka The Long Johns) skits here in the UK:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bird+%26+fortun...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by dvtrn on Friday March 05, 2021 @02:56PM (#26361308)

You should watch more of these two, Clark and Dawe on YouTube. Behind the humor is biting commentary but a lot of education, I learned a lot through their humorous and pretend political interviews as an American about the Australian government and even the European debt crisis.

John Clark (the one who kept insisting the front fell off) passed away a few years ago.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by btilly on Friday March 05, 2021 @01:22PM (#26360043)

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirki_(tanker) for the real life ship that inspired that piece of comedy.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by Cullinet on Friday March 05, 2021 @01:58PM (#26360567)

under the related articles is the 1990 spill of the tanker "Mega Borg". After reading the first time about "the front fell off", I am given to think that the earlier comedic opportunity has gone sadly missed. [Ed. but I don't know if Scorpio Tankers Inc took the ticker STNG for related reasons...]

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by mindcrime on Friday March 05, 2021 @03:52PM (#26361942)

I can honestly say I laughed until I cried the first time I saw that. Possibly the most hilarious thing I've ever seen in my life.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by dennis_jeeves on Friday March 05, 2021 @04:09PM (#26362150)

> their desirable default state.

Who would have guessed...

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Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by ALittleLight on Friday March 05, 2021 @03:20PM (#26361537)

When I read the title I assumed it meant something like a hovercraft.

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Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by capableweb on Friday March 05, 2021 @08:51AM (#26356832)

I think "Flying" would be even better, as the ship is most likely moving somewhere, not just standing still.

Would also tie the story into the story of the Flying Dutchman (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Dutchman) and maybe provide some explanation for why people been seeing it as flying

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by vidarh on Friday March 05, 2021 @12:07PM (#26359149)

The first time I read about optical illusions like these as a kid was this Uncle Scrooge story referencing the Flying Dutchman:

http://duckcomicsrevue.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-flying-dutch...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by jarmitage on Friday March 05, 2021 @09:22AM (#26357138)

In this case, being off the coast of Falmouth, the ship is more than likely standing still.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by throwawayForMe2 on Friday March 05, 2021 @01:05PM (#26359870)

Especially if you can see big sails flapping or moving with the wind.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by 8note on Friday March 05, 2021 @02:41PM (#26361129)

Or if it's got a hydrofoil. Those are also flying, just in water

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by tendencydriven on Friday March 05, 2021 @09:33AM (#26357234)

It is more than likely not moving anywhere.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by mc32 on Friday March 05, 2021 @09:03AM (#26356937)

Title should be ‘Fata Morgana sighted off Cornish Coast.’

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by danbruc on Friday March 05, 2021 @10:50AM (#26358167)

No, it is not a Fata Morgana [1] but a superior mirage [2] as the article says. A Fata Morgana is a subclass of superior mirage that has multiple distorted images. Just learned this because of another comment. Whether calling it a Fata Morgana would be appropriate because it is the common laymen term for mirages in English I can not tell as non-native speaker.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fata_Morgana_(mirage)

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirage

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by pavon on Friday March 05, 2021 @03:23PM (#26361567)

Actually, in this case, I don't think it is any type of mirage. Rather it is a false horizon [1] caused by reflection of fog.

[1] https://www.metabunk.org/threads/debunked-fata-morgana-or-mi...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by rapnie on Friday March 05, 2021 @01:09PM (#26359914)

Another form of mirage are the Marfa Lights on Route 67, where (of course) UFO's were quickly in the picture. Most probably headlights, campfires.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfa_lights

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by quickthrowman on Friday March 05, 2021 @01:17PM (#26359996)

I’ve seen one similar to the Marfa Lights, Paulding Light in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Paulding Light is caused by car headlights.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulding_Light

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by wnoise on Friday March 05, 2021 @01:07PM (#26359894)

The requirement for multiple distorted images is ... in dispute.

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Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by mdeck_ on Friday March 05, 2021 @08:44AM (#26356768)

Hm. But is there anything particularly special about a hovering ship... a hovering... craft? :)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by theandrewbailey on Friday March 05, 2021 @08:59AM (#26356908)

Yes, because it's full of eels.

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Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by gnabgib on Friday March 05, 2021 @10:26AM (#26357838)

I will not buy this record, it is scratched

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Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by dllthomas on Friday March 05, 2021 @12:01PM (#26359094)

This is a tobacconist's.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by dylan604 on Friday March 05, 2021 @11:13AM (#26358441)

It would be very special if it were built by aliens

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by klingon79 on Friday March 05, 2021 @12:15PM (#26359242)

It likely was- but probably the terrestrial, non-xenobiological kind.

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Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by dylan604 on Friday March 05, 2021 @03:32PM (#26361684)

the use of this term in this manner has been deprecated

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by AnimalMuppet on Friday March 05, 2021 @03:40PM (#26361790)

By whom?

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Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by dylan604 on Friday March 05, 2021 @03:52PM (#26361934)

current US Pres Admin. there was a memo. did you not get it?

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Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by AnimalMuppet on Friday March 05, 2021 @04:04PM (#26362088)

No, I don't get US Presidential memos. Also, last I checked, the US President was not in charge of how words are allowed to be used on HN.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by dylan604 on Friday March 05, 2021 @04:24PM (#26362300)

Like there's really a memo. It's been in so many different news outlets. The current admin is trying to distance from previous use of the word. And if you think I was being serious, then you must not have gotten the memo on sarcasm. You should really declutter your inbox. You seem to be missing a lot of memos.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by AnimalMuppet on Saturday March 06, 2021 @02:38PM (#26369886)

Perhaps you didn't get the memo - about charity, about not replying with snark or sneering, and about sarcasm often not coming across well in a text-only medium. All have been said here, by dang, frequently.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by jader201 on Friday March 05, 2021 @10:34AM (#26357949)

I’m guessing the (current) HN title was the original BBC title, and someone figured this out and changed it (after it was posted here).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by balabaster on Friday March 05, 2021 @02:00PM (#26360590)

To be fair, there's nothing particularly special about hovering ships either given the invention of the hovercraft...

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Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by HenryBemis on Friday March 05, 2021 @04:48PM (#26362567)

Sigur Ros - Valtari (2012)

Imho it s a great album. It also has a 'hovering ship' on its cover: http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_cov...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by agumonkey on Friday March 05, 2021 @10:40AM (#26358035)

Hey don't diminish human prowess.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by klingon79 on Friday March 05, 2021 @12:17PM (#26359265)

Yes, we’ve had hovering craft for a while; they typically appear to be closer to the water, though.

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Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by whateveryoua381 on Friday March 05, 2021 @10:18AM (#26357731)

While not special, it is accurate!

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Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by mannykannot on Friday March 05, 2021 @08:25AM (#26356577)

The original title may have changed in response to similar comments.

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Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by dustinmoris on Friday March 05, 2021 @09:20AM (#26357122)

BBC article names change very frequently, often multiple times in only a few hours.

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Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by marshmallow_12 on Friday March 05, 2021 @09:23AM (#26357152)

reassuring to know i'm not the only one we [edit:who] (the irony) edits my post:)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by petercooper on Friday March 05, 2021 @10:11AM (#26357648)

Just for fun, you can track title edits happening on HN as well! https://hackernewstitles.netlify.app/

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by marshmallow_12 on Friday March 05, 2021 @11:42AM (#26358857)

thanks.

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Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by tasogare on Friday March 05, 2021 @02:48PM (#26361207)

Le Monde in France do that too. They even go as far as rewriting portions of their articles after publishing, and partially re-using them under different title(s). Hard to take them seriously when they cry about fake news when their own articles are so malleable.

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Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by itcrowd on Friday March 05, 2021 @11:41AM (#26358848)

Probably A/B testing through social media clicks.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:'Hovering ship' photographed off Cornish coast by walker by gumby on Friday March 05, 2021 @09:48AM (#26357380)

Since, as you say, one expects a ship to float, I assumed "hover" was intended and the title to be deliberately jocular.

[ Parent | on HN ]