Skip to main content

Don’t joke about ebola on an airplane or a hazmat crew will detain you

So a man walks onto an airplane and says, “I have ebola. You are all screwed!” The passenger next to him laughs uncomfortably, and says “Umm … You’re joking, right?” “No, I’ve been to Africa,” he cheerfully replies. Both laugh. Next thing he knows, the plane’s crawling with a hazmat crew and he’s getting tested for ebola.

The story sure sounds like the kind of joke you’d tell your friend over Sunday brunch, but it’s a real story. Apparently, the jokester never saw Meet the Parents. Remember when Gaylord Focker makes a joke about a bomb to a flight attendant and then gets questioned by the FBI?

One passenger on a US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, joked that he had ebola after he sneezed. The other passengers seemed completely unconcerned, realizing that it was a joke, but the airline staff sure didn’t take it that way. Shortly afterward a hazmat crew entered the plane in blue suits to escort the man from the plane. He was later tested for ebola and found to be healthy. Further investigation revealed that he’s never even been to Africa, the Diario Libre reported.

Nonetheless, all the flights’ passengers were detained for hours to make sure there was no trace of the disease. The entire debacle was recorded and uploaded on YouTube for all to see. You can hear passengers joking, watch them filming, and see the hazmat crew leading the man off the plane.

Editors' Recommendations

Malarie Gokey
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…
YouTube brings pinch to zoom and video navigation changes to everyone
The red and white YouTube logo on a phone screen. The phone is on a white background.

YouTube is updating its user interface with a slew of changes, and chief among them are the pinch-to-zoom feature and "precise" video navigation.

On Monday, YouTube announced quite a few updates to its viewing experience on mobile and web. Notably, the video-sharing platform said that it was finally "launching pinch to zoom and precise seeking to all users starting today."

Read more
10 longest videos on YouTube
YouTube logo on top-left corner of home screen

YouTube is a platform where you can watch millions of videos from around the world. Whether these videos are podcasts, reviews, or even reactions, YouTube has something for everyone. However, some content creators take it a step further and make their videos extra long. If you're looking for videos that last for over several hours, then you're in luck, because we've assembled ten of the longest videos currently on YouTube. Note that these may not be the absolute longest videos on YouTube, but we tried to limit the scope to entrees that have entertainment value. Somehow we suspect a clock countdown for 70 hours one second at a time wouldn't be very enjoyable.
10. The longest 5 seconds on YouTube.

If you ever wanted to see a five-second-long excerpt stretched out into a 19-hour thrill ride, check out this video from The Slow Mo Guys. As their chosen name suggests, these two men like to film in slow motion some crazy activities such as jumping on a water balloon, getting hit in the face with a soccer ball, and shooting a newton's cradle. "The longest 5 seconds on YouTube," which was released in 2016, stretches out a clip from their "Glass Explosion at 343,000 fps!" where they heat up a glass measuring cup and make its handle explode with only a squirt of water. Even though the build-up to this explosion is quite long, it's worth watching for the shattering effect alone.
9. I Counted To 100,000!

Read more
YouTube to overhaul channel names with @ handles for all
Youtube video on mobile. Credits: YouTube official.

YouTube is launching “handles” to make it easier for viewers to find and engage with creators on the video-sharing platform.

The change means that soon, every channel will have a unique handle denoted by an "@" mark, "making it easier for fans to discover content and interact with creators they love," the Google-owned company said in a post announcing the change.

Read more