The old one about a trade-off between intelligence and common sense...

[Phoenix Lazarus]

This seems a case in point.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/teacher-caught-handfuls-neighbours-knickers-20282101

[ajsmith2]

Have to admit although I probably shouldn't I feel sorry for the guy, having (on paper only clearly but still) a pretty decent life and occupation especially for his age in this era and throwing it away over such an inexplicable but definitely dubious and tawdry incident. I was a much more unhappy and self hating younger man when I was his age so I can relate to an extent: not saying I could have necessarily have ended up in such an extreme and criminal situation, but who knows if you've got yourself into deep shit on other fronts. I have no common sense either and clearly there was a bit of what could charitably described as unrealistically esoteric thinking being applied to whatever he was trying to achieve here.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/mar/30/man-jailed-for-life-after-stockport-of-wife-over-frozen-chips

Smith said: 'Seemingly the trigger was some used frozen chips'

Distracted by what a used frozen chip is

[Buelligan]

This stuff is not funny guys (do I need to say this?). 

And the first story, I think it's quite well established that people choosing to break into women's homes to steal underwear (especially when armed with a chisel), may feel compelled to escalate in this kind of intrusive predatory behaviour, ending very very badly indeed.  This isn't some foolish prank, not at all.

Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer.

[Bazooka]

Thought Colonel Russell Williams had escaped there for a moment.

[steve98]

Distracted by what a used frozen chip is

I think it means defrosted (and therefore unusable). She'd left them out.

Hi Colonel, welcome to CaB.

[MoreauVasz]

Underwear theft is a weird one.

I remember when I first saw the Inbetweeners, I was kind of taken aback by how they presented it as completely normal to steal a woman's pants so you could sniff them whilst having a wank.

[Clatty McCutcheon]

WORD OF THE DAY (PERVERT EDITION): snowdropper

'Snowdropper' was an old-fashioned term (still current in Australia, if the link below is to be believed) for a man who steals women's underwear from a washing line. Seems a rather frivolous and innocent-sounding name for such a creepy pursuit, if you ask me.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/snowdropper

I would tend to agree that this story seems a bit limited in the LOLs department, and is in fact pretty horrible, but if - like me - you enjoy words, why not add 'snowdropper' to your vocabulary, and at least something educational will have come out of this.

[Echo Valley 2-6809]

This stuff is not funny guys (do I need to say this?). 

And the first story, I think it's quite well established that people choosing to break into women's homes to steal underwear (especially when armed with a chisel), may feel compelled to escalate in this kind of intrusive predatory behaviour, ending very very badly indeed.  This isn't some foolish prank, not at all.

Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer.

But he has a degree in Computer Science. What a tragic waste.

[Echo Valley 2-6809]

Underwear theft is a weird one.

I remember when I first saw the Inbetweeners, I was kind of taken aback by how they presented it as completely normal to steal a woman's pants so you could sniff them whilst having a wank.

There was a bit in Men Behaving Badly where Knobhead Morrissey is secretly going through Leslie Ash's underwear drawer and puts a pair of her knickers on his head. Thought that was really weird even by '90s sitcom standards but it got big laughs.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

This stuff is not funny guys (do I need to say this?).

It's neither one singular thing or another but an assortment of things some aspects of which have undeniably bleak absurdist humour (do I need to say this?)

But I look forward to grand passages on why this is the latest thing that shames us all

[Blumf]

"Had a strange hobby"

[checkoutgirl]

I can't remember ever being so baffled by a thread. Oh yeah, it was two days ago.

[Echo Valley 2-6809]

I can't remember ever being so baffled by a thread.

Budding sex criminal terrorises woman after breaking into her flat to steal her underwear. But get this - he has a degree in Computer Science.

[Huxleys Babkins]

They've all got degrees in computer science by the time his lecturers are finished with them.

[Paul Calf]

WORD OF THE DAY (PERVERT EDITION): snowdropper

'Snowdropper' was an old-fashioned term (still current in Australia, if the link below is to be believed) for a man who steals women's underwear from a washing line. Seems a rather frivolous and innocent-sounding name for such a creepy pursuit, if you ask me.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/snowdropper

I would tend to agree that this story seems a bit limited in the LOLs department, and is in fact pretty horrible, but if - like me - you enjoy words, why not add 'snowdropper' to your vocabulary, and at least something educational will have come out of this.

In Scotland and Northern England, it just means anyone who steals any kind of clothing from washing lines.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I've got a degree in Computer Science. I sourced my last two pairs of ladies underwear from behind the kitchen radiator. He should try that in future.

[chveik]

judges ae classist idiots

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/mar/30/man-jailed-for-life-after-stockport-of-wife-over-frozen-chips

i think your lose your 'good father' credentials when you murder and dismember the mother of your children

[madhair60]

Oh, I see, so now we're no longer allowed to laugh at the panty raid scene in Revenge of the Nerds? Oh, and the nerds hiding cameras in the girls' dorm and filming leering close-ups of their genitals which they then watch together over beers, that's something to be frowned upon, is it? Let me guess, the subsequent escalation to rape by deception is also no longer amusing? Well excuse me for having a funny bone.

[jobotic]

judges ae classist idiots

i think your lose your 'good father' credentials when you murder and dismember the mother of your children

It's pretty repulsive isn't it?

I've taken into account all the years in which you didn't murder and dismember your wife, which was very admirable and restrained of you. Five stars, shame about this blip.

[El Unicornio, mang]

judges ae classist idiots

i think your lose your 'good father' credentials when you murder and dismember the mother of your children

Also "hard-working family man", as if either of those things make murder less bad. I'm a lazy workshy singleton, I'd have no chance with this judge.

[Blue Jam]

There was a bit in Men Behaving Badly where Knobhead Morrissey is secretly going through Leslie Ash's underwear drawer and puts a pair of her knickers on his head. Thought that was really weird even by '90s sitcom standards but it got big laughs.

I was just thinking about that episode, watched it quite recently. To be fair Tony was always portrayed as a sleazebag (albeit a lovable one) and when he gets caught out he gets his hand slammed in the underwear drawer as a punishment, and Deborah is portrayed as being well within her rights to feel violated.

I don't remember that Inbetweeners episode at all, that is a bit odd, yes.

[Icehaven]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/mar/30/man-jailed-for-life-after-stockport-of-wife-over-frozen-chips

Distracted by what a used frozen chip is

And I like how halfway down the article it casually mentions that the wife had had a relationship with another man some years ago which had led to the husband being jealous, having low self esteem and ultimately led to her murder. Leaving aside the astonishing victim blaming there (and it was the prosecution that brought it up!) it does show how reductive and unhelpful headlines like 'Man murders wife over chips' are, because of course there must have been massive problems in the relationship for anything like this to happen.

I worked with a bloke who'd murdered his wife a while ago and when it was in the papers they kept focusing on the fact that during the row before he killed her she'd said he had a small penis, as if her saying that was the main reason he did it. Of course the reality was way more complex than that, they had an extremely volatile relationship fuelled by alcoholism and had both had abusive and violent relationships before. It just reduces the tragedy of these situations to a 'funny' headline that people can go "Imagine! Killing your spouse over some meaningless row or personal comment! Tch." as if that's ever really been the whole story.

[Blue Jam]

You might be familiar with this one, icehaven:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2016/jul/26/womans-murder-called-understandable-lance-hart

A man shot dead his wife and daughter before shooting himself, apparently just after his wife had left the family home and filed for divorce. The Daily Mail commissioned a somewhat unethical psychiatrist to write an armchair analysis on how the poor guy was a henpecked husband driven to shoot his nagging wife and then his daughter "in a twisted act of love". It then emerged that she'd left him after decades of abusive and controlling behaviour and when his two sons spoke up about this the Mail hastily deleted their piece. Hence this interview they gave to the Guardian to put forward their side of the story:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jun/17/we-didnt-recognise-that-he-was-dangerous-our-father-killed-our-mother-and-sister

Another nasty bit of victim-blaming and presenting a tragic news event as a titillating story.

[Buelligan]

I'm pretty sure I remember that one, didn't read the link.  Very close to home that one.  Fucking hell.

[checkoutgirl]

Budding sex criminal terrorises woman after breaking into her flat to steal her underwear. But get this - he has a degree in Computer Science.

That did cross my mind but I dismissed it as being a complete nothing point.

[Paul Calf]

There was a brilliant episode of The Inbetweeners where Neil wrote a fourteen-page letter to Will's mum apologising for thinking about masturbating over her and they discussed it like adults and came to the conclusion that these urges are common among teenage boys what with all the hormones racing around their bodies and everyone went home a little wiser.

It was hilarious, because comedy is always best when it mimics mundane reality.

[Echo Valley 2-6809]

That did cross my mind but I dismissed it as being a complete nothing point.

Which it is. No idea why it's seen as an unusual sign of intelligence that merits the defence of him in the story, or the weird thread title.
Not sure why there's a thread for it at all really. As for the individual who's posted in it four times already, words fail me.

[paruses]

[And I like how halfway down the article it casually mentions that the wife had had a relationship with another man some years ago which had led to the husband being jealous, having low self esteem and ultimately led to her murder. Leaving aside the astonishing victim blaming there (and it was the prosecution that brought it up!) it does show how reductive and unhelpful headlines like 'Man murders wife over chips' are, because of course there must have been massive problems in the relationship for anything like this to happen.

I worked with a bloke who'd murdered his wife a while ago and when it was in the papers they kept focusing on the fact that during the row before he killed her she'd said he had a small penis, as if her saying that was the main reason he did it. Of course the reality was way more complex than that, they had an extremely volatile relationship fuelled by alcoholism and had both had abusive and violent relationships before. It just reduces the tragedy of these situations to a 'funny' headline that people can go "Imagine! Killing your spouse over some meaningless row or personal comment! Tch." as if that's ever really been the whole story.

I hate these sort of headlines. I remember when some senior police officer killed his wife and it was reported it was because she had cooked him the wrong thing for tea. This was way back in the mid-nineties and even then my usually uncritical mind thought "I  bet that's not the whole story".

But a lot of people took it at face value and it would fall into camps of it being almost Bantz on the guy's side and (I realise after reading Blue Jam's point made above) victim blaming on her side for literally cooking the wrong thing when he had clearly asked for chips.

[St_Eddie]

Arnold Layne had a strange hobby
Collecting clothes, moonshine, washing line
They suit him fine