Readers loved The Onion’s 9/11 issue, even though it wasn’t that funny

Yahoo News
Dylan Stableford talks to Onion writer John Krewson about the satirical newspaper’s legendary 9/11 issue, which came out a couple of weeks after the terrorist attacks. The Onion was supposed to have published its first issue in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, but it never went to press. The next week, the staff gathered to plan its next issue. “We knew we wouldn’t be able to ignore what had happened, but it was hard to make any sort of comedy,” Krewson says. Although the staff wasn’t sure how the issue would be received, the response was overwhelmingly positive. “I’d say it was the least funny issue we’ve ever done,” Krewson says. “But it was cathartic.” Among the memorable stories in the 9/11 issue:

• American Life Turns Into Bad Jerry Bruckheimer Movie
• Hijackers Surprised To Find Selves in Hell
• Not Knowing What Else To Do, Woman Bakes American-Flag Cake

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Related: Front pages from 2001 to 2011 tell story of 9/11 decade, from WTC attacks to war on terror and bin Laden’s death; News outlets ask their readers, “Where were you?“‘

Correction: This post originally stated that the Sept. 11, 2001, issue was The Onion’s first. It was to be the first one in New York.