There are times of your life you will always remember vividly.
In 1986, my college roommate wanted to watch the space shuttle Challenger take off. He tuned in to CNN, woke me up and we watched history unfurl on Jan. 28, 1986.
I remember seeing the explosion and realizing something dreadful had happened. People at Cape Canaveral seemed to be watching on tape delay. When cameras showed spectators, many were clapping.
That was almost 30 years ago, and we must forgive those who were not alive then and cannot recall the nation's shock at losing seven astronauts and the three-year grounding of the space program.
Still, it is more than a bit shocking that a company, American Apparel, would post an image of the Challenger explosion on Tumblr July 4th with the hashtags #smoke and #clouds.
The company apologized, saying the mistake was made by a 20-year-old "international" employee.
I'm almost 50 and I've made my share of social media mistakes, but I will never top that one, thankfully.
The public was quick to call out the social media gaffe on social media, of course.
"Your company is an absolute embarrassment after utilizing the Challenger picture in the manner you did. I am deeply ashamed to call you fellow citizens after that ... an absolute disgrace," wrote one angry Facebook user. "Consider removing American from your company name because you have made it clear you are far from it."
Maybe next year American Apparel will stick to posting pics of people in their underwear or helping their mannequins with grooming issues.
More news I ran across Thursday that you may find interesting:
- Man who killed wife over bad dinner prefers death to prison food
- Federal judge asks IRS to explain Lois Lerner's 'lost' emails
- Nuclear material seized by Iraq rebels
- 'Poor man's polar vortex' to chill northern U.S. in July
- Geothermal heats melts road in Yellowstone National Park
- Computer chips embedded in humans may prevent births for 16 years
- Feds dumping illegal immigrants off at churches
- Judge: Incest may be gaining acceptance like homosexuality
- Amoebas living in dirty contact lenses eat girl's eyes
- Woman contracts flesh-eating bacteria in bike accident
- Woman on heroin does naked yoga in road
- Teacher suspended for teaching soccer team to twerk
- Court: Smell of unburnt marijuana cannot justify police search of car
- Colorado selling 10 tons of marijuana a month
- Deputies return gun to man who kills wife, self
- Soccer player who killed ref with punch charged with murder
- American teens are as bad with money as politicians
- Wyoming doing well with 80 mph speed limit
- Fat Americans? J. Crew introduces size 000 (aka XXX Small)
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