Satirical post about removing Niagara Falls scow draws ire of residents who missed the joke
Published June 15, 2022 at 4:14 pm
A satirical Facebook page for a “business” called Sawenhalve Scrap drew the anger of a handful of Niagara residents who didn’t realize a post about removing the Niagara Falls scow was a lark.
Aside from their name (Saw In Half), it was fair to understand how some missed the joke as it starts off very seriously saying they were contacted by the Niagara Parks Commission who “wish for us to remove and scrap the broken up remains of both the Niagara Scow and a World War I antisubmarine patrol boat called the Sunbeam.”
While the scow is a well-known story, the Sunbeam being stranded is also true. A private owner purchased it and had planned a trip to Cleveland across Lake Erie. However, the boat famously took a wrong turn and ended up stranded on the Niagara River in 1938.
The Post continues in all seriousness, “Both vessels were involved in incidents in the first half of the 20th century that ended up with them being caught on rock shoals along the Niagara River, 838 yards short of the Niagara Falls.”
‘Sawenhalve Scrap’ continues, “Due to precarious nature of where they are at, no attempt to removing them has been made before. Eventually time passed and both vessels have started to break apart. We are being brought in to clear out the remains, to keep them from befouling the area any longer.”
And then finally in the last sentence, the punchline: “Due to the proximity to the falls we will be charging extra for the work to be done. All employees working the site will be required to wear special barrels that will protect them if they accidently fall into the river and go over the falls.”
A cursory glance at the Facebook page of the “business” shows a long history of similar satirical post. In one, they claimed to be dismantling three locomotive engines and that “We will be selling the scrap from the engines to a company that will use the metal to help shore up the ailing great barrier reef off the coast of Australia.”
In another involving locomotives, they note the City of Galveston Texas will be buying the scrap metal “to build a border wall along the Gulf of Mexico, to keep illegal immigrants out of their city.”
And finally, another involving dismantling locomotives where they “will be turning the scrap into chicken coops, that’ll be sold to KFC, to help raise chickens made with all vegan meat.”
The original post from yesterday (June 14) that enflamed many who missed the joke is below.
