30 funny examples of irony in real life

He once entered a “Charlie Chaplin walk” contest… and came in 20th.

The founder of AA asked for whiskey on his deathbed. (The nurse refused.)

In a hilarious example of irony, McDonalds’ employee health page, which is now shut down, once warned against eating McDonald’s burgers and fries.

Every year ABC interrupts A Charlie Brown Christmas—a movie about the over-commercialisation of the holidays—to make room for more commercials.

The most shoplifted book in the United States is The Bible.

“Father of Traffic Safety” William Eno invented the stop sign, crosswalk, traffic circle, one-way street, and taxi stand—but never learned how to drive.

The Cult Awareness Network (CAN), once a leading anti-cult hotline, is now owned by the Church of Scientology.

Al Capone’s older brother was a federal Prohibition agent.

The only losing basketball coach in University of Kansas history is James Naismith—the man who invented basketball in 1891. This hilarious example of irony proves that just because you thought of the idea doesn’t always mean you’ll be the best at executing it.

Before 2012, the largest purchaser of kale in America was Pizza Hut—they used it as garnish around their salad bars.

The site where Julius Caesar was murdered in 44 BC is now a no-kill animal shelter for homeless cats.

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone but refused to keep one in his study. He feared it would distract him from his work.

Here are 11 of the biggest lies that made history that history buffs will enjoy.

According to researchers, duct tape should never be used for sealing ducts.

Another funny example of irony, Sweden’s famous Ice Hotel has a smoke detector.

Take a look at 25 of the world’s strangest and most unique hotels.

The first man to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel died after slipping on an orange peel.

Dive into these fascinating facts about the world’s oceans.

She was fired from her secretarial job for failing to white-out a mistake. If you’re laughing at these irony examples, you’ll love these 50 bad jokes that you can’t help but laugh at.

The condition of not being able to pronounce the letter R is called… “rhotacism.”

Here are Here are 70 words and phrases you’re probably using all wrong.

Cotton buds, which are usually bought primarily to clean inside your ears, are sold in boxes that expressly warn: “Do not insert inside the ear canal.”

Bill Hillman, a bullfighting enthusiast, wrote a book called How to Survive the Bulls of Pamplona, all about how to avoid being gored by bulls. Three weeks after the release of the book, he was gored by a bull.

In 2011, the winners of an elementary school spelling bee in Utah received a trophy reading “Viewmont Spellling Bee, 1st Place.” Quite the example of irony—not only that the trophy contained a misspelling, but that it was the word “spelling.”

In 2002, a tree was planted in a park in Los Angeles in memory of Beatles guitarist George Harrison. The tree later died after being infested by beetles.

Before he became a star, Pharrell Williams was fired from McDonald’s three different times. Years later, he would help write and produce the company’s iconic “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle.

Gary Kremen, the founder of Match.com, encouraged everyone he knew to join it, including his girlfriend. She eventually left him for a man she met on Match.com.

When crossword puzzles debuted in the early 20th century, the New York Times was very critical of them, calling them “a primitive sort of mental exercise.” In 1942, the Times published its first crossword puzzle, and today, the New York Times crossword is the most famous one in America.

In 1985, a group of lifeguards in New Orleans gathered at the local pool to celebrate the fact that no one had drowned at the pool that past summer. After the party, they discovered the fully-clothed body of a man who had drowned in the pool.

In 2009, the Guinness Book of World records named Jonathan Lee Riches the record-holder for suing the largest number of people. Angrily declaring that the Guinness Book “has no right to publish my work, my legal masterpieces,” he sued them.

In the 1950s, 12-year-old David Ingham was kicked out of grammar school by the headmaster, who said that he’d “never amount to much.” Fifty-five years later, the same school commissioned Ingham, now an art teacher, to paint a portrait of that very headmaster.

In 1990, after 35 years working at Crayola, their retiring CEO, Emerson Moser, revealed that he was colourblind.

In 2014, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) posted an anti-piracy ad that read “Your pot of gold is right here.” But eagle-eyed users noticed that the image of a “pot of gold” they used was actually a photo of a baker’s Saint Patrick’s Day cake that the BSA had used without authorisation.

None of the song lyrics in Alanis Morissette’s song “Ironic” are examples of irony. As Morissette herself allegedly said, “the irony of ‘Ironic’ is that it’s not an ironic song at all.”

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Source: readersdigest.ca