A Laugh That Led to Court. SIGNS, SMILES, AND A CASE DISMISSED, A woman, about eight months pregnant, boarded a bus one afternoon, only to notice that a man sitting across from her was smiling at her. Feeling uneasy, she quickly moved to another seat, but the man’s smile grew into a wide grin. Unnerved by his amusement, she switched seats again, and the man seemed even more entertained. By the time she moved a fourth time, the man burst into laughter, which prompted her to complain to the bus driver, who called the authorities. The man was arrested on the spot. When the case went….
A woman, about eight months pregnant, boarded a bus one afternoon, only to notice that a man sitting across from her was smiling at her. Feeling uneasy, she quickly moved to another seat, but the man’s smile grew into a wide grin. Unnerved by his amusement, she switched seats again, and the man seemed even more entertained. By the time she moved a fourth time, the man burst into laughter, which prompted her to complain to the bus driver, who called the authorities. The man was arrested on the spot.
When the case went to court, the judge asked the man, who was around 20 years old, to explain himself. He calmly recounted the sequence of events, saying that he couldn’t help but notice the pregnant woman’s condition when she first boarded the bus. The woman had initially sat beneath a sign that read, “The Double Mint Twins are coming,” which caused him to grin. When she moved to a seat under a sign that said, “Logan’s Liniment will reduce the swelling,” it made him smile even more.
The man continued, saying that she next moved to a spot under a sign that read, “William’s Big Stick Did the Trick,” which nearly made him laugh out loud. But it was when she finally settled under a sign stating, “Goodyear Rubber could have prevented this Accident,” that he lost all composure and laughed uncontrollably. The courtroom erupted in laughter, and the judge, clearly amused, dismissed the case.
