The Aporia · We get the funniest looks

We get the funniest looks

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗

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APA MLA Chicago

We get the funniest looks. (2026, September 27). The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/we-get-the-funniest-looks-20260927-p610ey.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

AI analysis

Story summary

In summer 1978, Jeff Wall from Thirroul shared a humorous anecdote about a flight on a Pan Am jumbo jet from Heathrow to New York, where he encountered several celebrities. During his conversation with a Texan oil man over drinks at the bar, former Manchester United footballer George Best joined them. Five minutes later, Davy Jones from The Monkees also appeared, adding to the unexpected and amusing encounter on board.

Meanwhile, Eric Scott of Bondi Junction noted an AI system described his contributions to a column as "witty submissions, sharp observations, and humorous anecdotes," while acknowledging two separate careers he has had over the past twenty years. This discovery could potentially be useful if ever called before ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) for verifying information related to his career history.

Lastly, Don Bain of Port Macquarie recounted an achievement known as the Mal, Jono and Vic scoop but found AI systems were unflattering towards him, labeling it a "spurious" claim.

Written for “People Reacting To Someting” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

19%

3 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

61/100

The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Entertainment

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-27 · how these are computed

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Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 5892 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

No reporter is named on this article.

Topics

Monkees New York Pan Am Texan Thirroul

Subjects

Eric Scott PERSON · 2× Marie PERSON · 2× Davy Jones PERSON · 1× George Best PERSON · 1× Jeff Wall PERSON · 1× Monkees ORG · 1× New York GPE · 1× Pan Am ORG · 1× Texan NORP · 1× Thirroul GPE · 1×

Narrative

“On a Pan Am jumbo flight out of Heathrow to New York in the summer of ’78, at the small ovular bar at the back of the lower deck (when flying was a joy), I was having a yarn with a Texan oil man over a beer, when George Best descended the stairs from first class.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-27

🔮 That could be useful if ever called before ICAC.

2026-09-27 · The Sydney Morning Herald

We get the funniest looks · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 3 hedged)

The following celebrity encounter (C8) from Jeff Wall of Thirroul is a little bit up in the air: asserted

encounter → follow → air

Best → have → class

Five minutes later, the diminutive Davy Jones from the Monkees joined the shout.” asserted

Jones → join → shout

Eric Scott of Bondi Junction was “inspired by Seppo Ranki (C8), and had my first dabble in AI to find that my contributions to C8 are ‘witty submissions, sharp observations and humorous anecdotes’ while my letters are ‘concise and often witty’. asserted

letters → inspire → C8

What is rather worrying is finding that AI provides career entries for two positions I have held in the last twenty years, describing me in the second as ‘a separate Eric Scott’. asserted

I → find → Scott

That could be useful if ever called before ICAC. uncertain

That → call → ICAC

Instead of saying ‘I don’t recall’ I have AI to prove that it was not I.” asserted

it → say → AI

The expert systems concluded that Don Bain of Port Macquarie’s greatest C8 achievement is the Mal, Jono and Vic scoop: “I consulted AI but found only opprobrium against my name. asserted

I → conclude → name

‘Responsible for the spurious notion that the venerated George Manojlovic was no more than a pseudonym for a trio of talented Herald writers, a preposterous theory, quickly disproved but lingering in the minds of some’.” asserted

Manojlovic → venerate → some

Judy Klein of Double Bay minds her language (C8): “Anyone needing ‘Romani oppidum oppugnobant’? asserted

Klein → mind → oppugnobant

It’s all that remains after years of Latin lessons. asserted

that → ’ → lessons

You never know when ‘The Romans are attacking the town’ may come in handy.” uncertain

attacking → know → town

“Visiting the Wollombi Sculpture Festival over the weekend, my wife and I came across a Bunya pine in the yard of the local gallery,” writes Malcolm McEwen of North Turramurra. asserted

McEwen → visit → Turramurra

“There was a sign on it with writing so small I had to stand close to read it, right under the branches. asserted

I → be → branches

It warned that the tree’s massive (up to 10 kilogram) nuts could fall without warning, and advised not to stand close.” “After arriving back in Tokyo recently on our wedding anniversary, after a 12-day cruise, imagine our surprise to read the Herald Cryptic Clue 1-across: Marie and Tim roam about the sea.” uncertain

Marie → warn → sea

We thank correspondents Marie and Tim Slack-Smith of Castle Hill. Column8@smh.com.au No attachments, please. asserted

We → thank → attachments

We get the funniest looks

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Claims (16 extracted, 3 hedged)