As much as the internet is a triumph for communication in general, it's surprising how often people make mistakes when interpreting things online. It's almost impossible to effectively detect sarcasm in text 100 percent of the time, and it's common to have to read things a few times in order to properly ascertain that something is a joke. But most of us are fully aware of that fact, so we simply read things with a hefty grain of salt.
For some reason, a great many of us don't have that knowledge, and keep thinking everyone on the internet is being earnest whenever they say literally anything. When you read someone say something like "today I ate a 5 gallon bucket of rocks for breakfast" it's more likely that they're either speaking figuratively or being goofy rather than maliciously trying to trick everyone about their stomach capacity. But invariably, there will be a commenter who slides in with "no, I don't believe you. I've tried and I could only eat 3 quarts of rocks, gravel at that." And then we have to decide if that person is joking, which we sincerely hope they are, and it just keep going. Much like swallowing a cup of sand, it's rocks all the way down.
Anyway, here are some more chowder heads who didn't get jokes.
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