TELLURIDE, Colo. (CBS4) – It’s a common occurrence in Colorado, especially during periods of rain or snow. We’re talking about large rocks falling onto highways that traverse the beautiful Rocky Mountains.
But a tweet from a sheriff’s office in a rural southwestern county on Monday afternoon, meant to alert drivers on Highway 145 to a potential hazard, caught the eyes of thousands on Twitter, because of the odd wording it contained.
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
Was the tweet just an innocent typo? Or was it some type of fancy police talk? Either way the phrase ‘a large boulder the size of a small boulder’ became the butt of many jokes for several hours.
One person said we shall name it Biggie Smalls. Another wondered if a self-conscious smaller boulder wrote the tweet? Some just responded with memes.
We shall name it…..Biggie Smalls.
— The Brofucius (@TheBrofucius) January 27, 2020
Did … did a self-conscious small boulder write this?
— Attorney@Law (@TheGlare_TM) January 27, 2020
"Large boulder the size of a small boulder" pic.twitter.com/qNVmMKPxLE
— OlympicDane (@mortenbc58) January 27, 2020
Why be a large or small boulder when you can simply #BeBoulder? https://t.co/BBvDAKg90k
— CU Boulder Engineering (@CUEngineering) January 28, 2020
The CBS4 Morning Crew had fun with this story on-air with anchor Brit Moreno saying she has made typos on Twitter before. The sheriff’s office was a good sport about the tweet and left it up, but later posted an update once the rock was removed from the highway.
The boulder that fell onto Highway 145 at Silverpick Rd outside Telluride was approximately 4ftx4ftx4ft (64 cubic ft) and weighed about 10,000lbs. No injuries or vehicle damage. Eastbound lane blocked for about 30 mins until a snow plow was able to move the boulder off highway. pic.twitter.com/mpCF3JdsC8
— San Miguel Sheriff (@SheriffAlert) January 27, 2020
Chris Spears
