The dying art of headline writing

To be sure, the headline caught my eye, and drew me in to read a fairly serious story. But once upon a time, we learned that it was better to leave no room for the double entendre along the way.

"Decades-old toxic gas threat lifts from West Virginia town" carries a sombre message in the story, but it could just as well have been a spoof announcing the closing of "Freddie's Franks and Beans Cafe." If such a threat was ever there, it may well survive.