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Oh, L No!: Share your CTA horror story

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Photo by Clark Maxwell
Bodily fluids, sexual gestures, shadowy stalkers - we’ve all had our fair share of cringe-worthy CTA experiences. Now there’s a site where ‘L’ riders can share their bizarre transit memories.

We heard about it through the Reader yesterday, but Oh, L No! has been around for a couple months now and is finally starting to pick up speed. It’s accumulated a couple dozen posts, including stories relaying a Pink Line stabbing, a stripping bag lady, ShakeWeighting, old ladies being chased by a German shepherd, and Jason Voorhees pacing the aisles. There’s even an appeal to end station announcements and establish “a silent CTA.”

Our favorite so far is Steamy Pile, in which a mound of leaking bags turns out to be a homeless woman squatting for a pee. Sad or funny? You decide. But the stories aren’t entirely negative, and you should feel free to pass along heartwarming accounts (that smooth-talking conductor on the Red Line comes to mind).

The site allows you to sort stories by L line, a feature that may become more useful as more people submit. It also features audio versions of some of these stories, which were provided by Vocalo. And you can take part in a poll that broaches one of Chicago’s greatest debates: “Is it spelled 'L' or 'EL'?”

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Comments [rss]

  • Paul Klekner

    the red line can be pretty scary sometimes.

  • Nicholas

    The site is a little disappointing and hard to read. Many of the stories are pretty old -- recollections from years ago. I was harangued by a smelly, belligerent hippie just yesterday on the Blue Line (he was probably headed to the Occupy Chicago crowd, but Police escorted him off at Clark/Lake as he was harassing riders).  Haven't seen many people using the train car as a toilet lately, but plenty of smelly hobos on the Blue Line most every morning. Sometimes the train car is too rank to ride. It is an olfactory circus.

    But, I think it will be great fun to read as they gather more stories.

  • Rosemary_Woodhouse

    I saw a guy shit his pants and then fling the turds out of the cuff of his pants. I am emotionally scarred for life.

  • It reminds me of Jason Messinger's (or however he spelled his name) "This is Grand" blog. I was sad to see that one die.

  • ChicagoD

    This used to be what CTA Tattler did. Some of the stories are priceless.

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