The satellite has fallen out of orbit.

Just browsing this sub. It reminded of something that occurred when I was about a month into my first ever IT job (or any serious job for that matter) at the turn of the millennium on my placement year at university. I was the sole member of the IT department.

The internet went off. In a casual conversation with a user (who I got on with), they asked me what happened. I said the satellite fell out of orbit and its real trouble.

I did not expect anyone to take this seriously. A few hours later (or however, long it was), when checking my email, I had an email from the CEO (it wasn't a huge company) with all senior managers copied in saying they had heard about the satellite and were very concerned what this meant for our external data and wanted to know what I was doing about it.

I had absolutely no idea how to respond, I was fresh as a puppy. I went to his office and explained it was just a passing joke and the problem wasn't really that big of a deal. Fortunately, he saw the funny side and that was the end of it (at least that was the guise he portrayed anyways).

I don't think I have made a joke about a problem since.