It’s a good-news-bad-news story: 

Several Hurricane Irma victims called a 1-800 number for help and were offered phone sex instead of hurricane relief assistance.

It’s very kind, I’m sure, but perhaps now isn’t the time.

The Miami Herald reported that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Region 4 office accidentally tweeted the number Wednesday, which offered assistance to people dealing with damaged roofs. The number was supposed to be a “1-888” number, not a “1-800” number.

Via Sam.

“This Fall, lightning strikes three times!” || This. (h/t, Julia) || That. || A bit of the other. || At last, a miracle breakthrough in atomised butter consumption. || Always respect the media. || Merging, self-healing ‘bots. || Man’s best friend. || The tasty parts of pigs. || Japanese slot machines of yore. || ESL students learn new gender pronouns. || Sweet dreams. (h/t, dicentra) || On nickel weeklies and dime novels. || Today’s word is mindset. || Meanwhile, in Sweden, love is in the air. || Sport is too competitive and must be reformed, says feminist academic. || A brief history of gated reverb. || Shredding golden slime. || And finally, a little-known episode of space travel history: “Pieces of faecal matter free-floated around the command module for several minutes.” A whodunnit ensues. 

In other news, 

Officials in Manatee County, Florida are under fire after an interpreter for the deaf warned about pizza and monsters during an emergency briefing related to Hurricane Irma… Members of the deaf community said [amateur interpreter, Marshall] Greene mostly signed gibberish, referencing “pizza,” “monsters,” and using the phrase “help you at that time to use bear big,” during the event. 

Via Popehat. 

So how was your day at work, darling? (h/t, Damian) || Upgrade. || Her dessert is much fancier than yours. || Nun armed with chainsaw does her bit to help. || Trek nerdology. || A taste of New York. || BBC Pidgin. || Pro tip. || Perverse objects. || Genes and Marmite. || Robotic gams. || Aliens the size of guinea pigs. || A pile of Python. || She chose poorly. || Cat vacuuming. Do try it at home and let us know how it goes. || “Yes, but technically, I’m inside it.” || Street art. || They do this better than you do. || “A person can control it like a car.” || Zero to four hundred, and back, in forty-two seconds. || 30 days at sea. || Drawing on water. || This. || That. || A bit of the other. (h/t, Obnoxio) || Cassini’s farewell photos. || And finally, the man who survived not one but two atomic bombings.

Today’s word is suboptimal. (h/t, Damian) || “Breast support for side sleepers” and other boob-related wonders. || Birds. || Big things at sea. (h/t, drb) || Tokyo street photography. || About Devils Tower. || The radium girls. || The real-time alignment of very large objects. || Jupiter. || How Stanley Kubrick ventured beyond the infinite in 1968. For fans, the entire playlist may be of interest. || Thomas Sowell on freedom versus equality. || Firing Line playlists. || Oh come on, ladies. How can you resist? || Designer desserts. || Assorted thresholds, in handy graph form, set to music. || Modern horrors. || Modern horrors, part two. || This. (h/t, Obnoxio) || Compton car repossession is livelier than planned. || Crime news. || And finally, as first dates go, I suppose it could have been worse.