If you're in Syria and a Mark-1 Plumbing truck rolls by, don't bother calling the number. Mark-1 absolutely, definitely does not service your area.
A picture posted on Twitter by the Supporters of the Religion Front — a faction engaged in the ongoing Syrian civil war — shows an enormous gun mounted to the back of a Ford F-250 decorated with the name and number of Mark-1, a plumbing operation in Texas City, Texas. Mark-1 is known better for unclogging toilets than fighting brutal, drawn-out conflicts in the Middle East.
As bizarre as it is, it's no laughing matter: as the picture has spread on social media, KHOU reports that Mark-1 has received angry phone calls from individuals wondering why they're supporting a bloody war worlds away. The company traded in the truck last year, which ended up going to auction; fast forward a few months, and the vehicle — Mark-1's contact information and all — somehow shows up in Syria, modified to create problems rather than solve them.
Always remove your phone number from your truck before you sell it.
Comments
Well, I for one think it is a laughing matter.,..though not for Mark, of course!
By Schmitty3338 on 12.17.14 12:46pm
He’s probably thinking heads should roll over this bad publicity.
By Mike Caine on 12.17.14 1:49pm
Mark-1 — Official Plumber of The Syrian Conflict.
By whiskeylover on 12.17.14 12:50pm
When shit hits the fan, call Mark-1 plumbing.
There’s nothing funny about the conflict, but this is truly bizarre.
By quantumaspect on 12.18.14 12:57pm
"Tony Stark built the Mark-1…..
in a cave…..
WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS!"
By JamesXS on 12.18.14 3:24pm
I don’t think you should include that Tweet as part of the article.
These are barbarian fighters and we should not spread their propaganda as part of a "cute story"
By VergeReader22 on 12.17.14 12:52pm
After consideration, I actually agree. I’ve removed it. Don’t agree that it’s a "cute" story, though — bizarre, yes. Definitely not cute.
By chrisziegler on 12.17.14 12:56pm
Thanks Chris
By VergeReader22 on 12.17.14 12:59pm
We really need to start teaching better critical thinking skills so people will stop going for the simplest answer that pops up in their head.
We live in a globalized world. No your local plumber isn’t directly supporting ISIS and if he was he certainly wouldn’t be leaving his number on the side so you can make angry calls.
We’re surrounded by fucking idiots.
By My Only Name Change on 12.17.14 1:06pm
I agree.
Though I just wanted to point out these are not ISIS. Crazy religious fanatic, though not ISIS.
By VergeReader22 on 12.17.14 1:14pm
Fair point.
By My Only Name Change on 12.17.14 2:32pm
I think people will be amazed at how many used cars get shipped off to foreign countries. You know that beat up Corolla you traded in? There’s a pretty good chance it’s in Africa right now.
By eyhk on 12.17.14 1:37pm
So true. Same goes for Central Asia, even though you can’t always expect to see our used vehicles as you were used to, but modded. In this case with a gun, but I also remember that Audicedes with BMW headlights in Bishkek ;) Or the Volksoyota in Almaty.
By HeadPack on 12.18.14 6:00am
Gotta admit, it does sort of boggle the mind that somebody would see this on the news and assume Mark I Plumbing is also running a PMC branch contracted out ot one of the group in the Syrian civil war.
By impendingdoom on 12.17.14 3:28pm
The irony is that once the fighting stops, there’s going to be a ton of plumbing work in Syria.
By The Quik Mix on 12.17.14 1:11pm
Doesn’t really answer the question of how a truck (a nice truck at that) sold at auction in the US ended up in the Syrian civil war.
By freeskier93 on 12.17.14 1:14pm
There is probably some VIN info detailing who bought it and how it got out of the country…I’m sure some enterprising reporters will run that down.
By SasparillaFizz on 12.17.14 1:16pm
Or someone stole the truck and it somehow ended up in a foreign land.
By greg.episcopo on 12.18.14 7:00am
Unlikely. Some probably just bought the truck really cheap here in the US and the exported it to a foreign country where he can sell it for much more money.
Import/export traders do the same thing for your trade in phones and donated books and clothes
By harvey_dent on 12.18.14 12:23pm
A lot of used cars we sell here end up in Asia and middle east.
What we consider here junk can be used in poorer countries where maintenance is a lot cheaper than here
By VergeReader22 on 12.17.14 1:18pm
Maintenance is a lot cheaper and safety standards are a lot more lax! My tyre guy told me that most of the old tyres he removes when he fits a new set get shipped out to Africa where they get another few years life.
By Thegovier on 12.17.14 1:41pm
safety standard, insurance risk, same diff. it’s all baked into the cost of the transaction.
By omo on 12.17.14 1:45pm
An Auction in Texas is a great place to find Pickups to be used as Technicals…
By Critic on 12.17.14 2:43pm
Sounds like Mark found himself in another.. Crappy Situation.
By James.M on 12.17.14 2:45pm
Comment of the day!!! lol
By IamPAYNE on 12.17.14 3:52pm