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It has been just over a year since the San Miguel Sheriff in Colorado went viral for its emergency tweet about a boulder, and the account is back with another hilarious warning. Amidst a snowstorm last January, the department tweeted about a “large boulder the size of a small boulder” that was blocking a lane on the local highway. It was an innocent tweet that was meant to look out for the city’s residents, but the wording was hilarious.
Large boulder the size of a small boulder is completely blocking east-bound lane Highway 145 mm78 at Silverpick Rd. Please use caution and watch for emergency vehicles in the area. pic.twitter.com/EVMmDf0IJu
— San Miguel Sheriff (@SheriffAlert) January 27, 2020
Twitter, of course, went wild with the description and had plenty of jokes. All of the replies are great, but here are the two highlights:
The wording of the original tweet was an innocent mistake. Susan Lily, who works in the public information office for the Sheriff, since clarified that she meant to type out that the large boulder was the size of a “small car,” not a small boulder. But what was done, was done, and the tweet became legendary.
One reply in particular stands out, as it would become clairvoyant.
On Friday, the San Miguel Sheriff’s Department encountered another fallen boulder and went to send out the advisory. In doing so, they had a good laugh at their own expense, referencing the fact that the large boulder is indeed the size of a large boulder.
A large boulder the size of a large boulder is blocking the southbound lane Hwy 145 mm28 in Stoner Creek area of Montezuma County. Expect delays. #largeboulder pic.twitter.com/9WJ1nKB67Q
— San Miguel Sheriff (@SheriffAlert) February 5, 2021
It was a brilliant play of self-deprecating humor and entirely intentional. Lily knew what she was doing.
And here we go. https://t.co/qH2IdOQB1R
— Susan Lilly (@susanlilly) February 5, 2021
As is to be expected, the new boulder also went viral as people on Twitter got their jokes in. Some people didn’t get the reference.
Everyone needs an editor… https://t.co/mtbjFKO6QA
— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) February 5, 2021
New large boulder just dropped! pic.twitter.com/Ml1JIKQjx3
— BroBible (@BroBible) February 5, 2021
Oh no, not Stoner Creek!
We hope the large boulder the size of a large boulder can be reduced down to a large boulder the size of a small boulder for easy mitigation. https://t.co/JIMHpIhFDH
— CU Boulder Engineering 🦬 (@CUEngineering) February 5, 2021
I hope this large boulder the size of a large boulder doesn’t cause a large traffic jam the size of a large traffic jam. https://t.co/bd6os9gi7V
— EMI GUY (@EMI_NASA_GUY) February 5, 2021
Oh my god my time has finally come https://t.co/xklq0Bc3eW pic.twitter.com/30jOFmjMnq
— Adelaide Gardner (@ohadelaide) February 5, 2021
Thank goodness. I hate it when large boulders turn out to be much smaller than a medium boulder. It messes with my head, which is the size of my head.
— Grumpy Potato (@TiredTater) February 5, 2021
I don’t know what is larger than a large boulder that looks like a large boulder, but I really want to find out.