UFO – Memphis Flyer

Memphis on the internet.

Houston’s Problem

The MEMernet was dominated late last week with the news that chain restaurant Houston’s closed its longtime Memphis location, citing staffing and safety challenges.

Reactions online followed a familiar rhythm — shock at the news, sadness over the dishes that will be missed, remembrance of good times had at the chain restaurant, a wave of pffffftt about safety concerns in one of the safest parts of town, a review of all the other restaurants in the area that are thriving, undertones of racism in the motivation to close, context on how the restaurant never engaged with the Memphis community, news that a local wanted to step in to reopen the place, and, finally, a meme showing Houston’s could reopen as a Jack Pirtle’s Chicken.

Haunted Hepburn

Someone bought some Halloween just for Christmas. A recently purchased poster ($50) of Audrey Hepburn was described as “haunted” in a Facebook Marketplace post from Collierville. The poster said whatever spirit was attached to the poster was “escalating” things by touching them and even leaving red marks.

UFO on Sam Cooper?

A video posted to X by Myra Moore The Paranormal Chic apparently showed a UFO transported through Memphis last weekend on a flatbed trailer, driving down Sam Cooper Boulevard.

Space Bus

According to The Daily Star, a daily tabloid newspaper published in the U.K., a recent “raft of UFO sightings included a “flying bus” over Mississippi.

The Mississippi couple who saw the skybus dismissed the sighting, believing the craft to be “some secret military aircraft probably headed to Memphis.”

Weird Wrestling

Last week, thesportster.com, which self-identifies as “the world’s most entertaining sports website,” published a list titled “15 Wrestling Urban Legends You’ve Probably Never Heard Before.”

The wrestling clickbait repeated an oft-told tale about a disgruntled tag team that “to take a measure of revenge on [Jerry ‘the King’] Lawler,” used the Memphis wrestler’s signature crown for a toilet. It’s not a new story, of course, but if you haven’t read it, it’s still ew.

News to Us

Many thanks to WREG for giving an old obscene gesture a new, decidedly modern context. Last week, Channel 3’s report about 40 pounds of marijuana found in a home in Southeast Memphis included this account: “No one answered the door when WREG knocked. But later, a silver F-150 pulled up, dropped a child off, and sped away. They made it clear WREG was not welcome by flashing a middle finger out the window.” Merp.

Listed

Memphis cracked the top-10 on Fodor’s 2018 “Go List,” a collection of “must see” tourist destinations. Memphis was ranked at a respectable #6, just below Kuwait, and just above Armenia. So, yay?