Lynn Trimble
Audio By Carbonatix
In the realm of awful autocorrects and typos, it has to be up there with writing “superherpes” when you meant “superheroes.”
Earlier this week, a Reddit user hit up the Scottsdale subreddit with a seemingly innocent request. “If you had to pick one spot to visit thats not generic when visting Scottsdale what would it be?” the person asked, explaining that a friend would be visiting from California soon. In-N-Out and mountains are already abundant in California, the poster explained, “so I am totally out of ideas.”
What a good friend, concerned about showing his buddy a good time! And what a bad proofreader! Because instead of asking about “tourism” spots in the post’s subject line, the user wrote:
“Best less known terrorism areas?”
Who knows if it was a typo, a horrible autocorrect or a talk-to-text mishap, but it was undeniably funny. And Reddit users had a field day in the comments.
“Bruh, delete this and repost before the feds knock on your door,” one user wrote, though the post is still up with its original title. Another pointed the original poster to the Arizona town of Bagdad.
Others took the poster at his (perhaps misapplied) word.
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about in Scottsdale,” wrote one person. “I’d maybe avoid fashion square mall though. If somethings gonna happen, it’s gonna happen there.” Added somebody else: “Like 10 years ago a guy in Casa Grande, set up a bomb at the Social Security office it shook the city but not much else. But that’s not Scottsdale.” That did happen, in 2012.
Another user answered the terrorism question, but more from the perspective of Arizona’s brand of right-wing extremism.
“Just be on the lookout for the Y’all Qaeda types up along Cave Creek Road thinking they live in a country music video,” the person said. “Also the Vanilla ISIS groups at the Sugar Bowl in Old Town.”
And then, some helpful, earnest folks simply offered tourism suggestions, reading right past the typo. Among their ideas: The Musical Instrument Museum, Taliesin West, Hole in the Rock. Some of those aren’t in Scottsdale and they certainly aren’t “less known,” but solid tourism spots nonetheless.
Phoenix New Times wouldn’t dare weigh in on the idea of “terrorism spots” — we’re not trying to end up on an FBI watch list — but we crowdsourced among our editorial staff for some good hidden-gem attractions.
Dear poster, try the rooftop lounge at the Canopy Hotel Scottsdale, which offers great views of Camelback Mountain. (If your hoity-toity California friend can stand another mountain view, that is.) Also worth a shot: Anticus, the art gallery that doubles as a great bookstore; and the coffee shop Four Till Four, which hosts motorcycle and car shows every weekend.
Have a good time, and remember: Always read what you wrote before you post it.
