The biggest “Stupid Thing” in the world.

This week, something about the world’s largest (insert any absurdity here) made the news—complete with a Guinness World Record. I think to myself: what the hell does the world’s largest (insert any absurdity here) have to do with me, or with most people? Why are there folks who pour so much effort into getting Guinness to recognize some meaningless absurdity that contributes absolutely nothing?

I imagine the effort is political or promotional, and that people genuinely enjoy seeing these things in the news. After all, news broadcasts are the media’s best-selling product, and like any consumer product, they’re designed to deliver what people want to hear—not the truth they actually need to know.