Welcome back to Overheard in D.C. — The 51st edition! Send the quirky, funny, embarrassing, and otherwise entertaining stuff you overhear to overheards@51st.news. Make sure to include where you were, who said it, and a little context.
Haha, cute. What ideas?
🤮
Overheard between two college women interning on the hill: Girl 1: “Is he actually a Republican though?” Girl 2: “I don’t know, but I’m definitely planting ideas in his head. I think he just likes to play devil's advocate.”
Pick up! It's the call from inside the house, literally
🤳
Overheard in the Longworth House Office Building elevator: Girl 1: "Comms is like a sorority in the worst way." Girl 2: "Yeah, they're so cliquey, mean, and always care about their perfect hair." Girl 1: "It's a total popularity contest!" (Brief silence) Girl 1: "I hate being in Comms."
Probably bad
❓
MLK Library security guard on the phone: "That man is a time-ticking bomb."
#themoreyouknow
🫐
Overheard in the locker room at Piney Branch Pool, Takoma Park: Mom: "Dung beetles do like to eat a lot of poop. I don't know if they have a favorite kind of poop, though." Child, maybe four years old: "Did you know if you eat blueberries when you're little, it turns your poop blue?"
Colleen is a 51st co-founder and a former DCist reporter. Her work has appeared in NPR, Street Sense Media, and The Washington Post. She currently lives in New York, where she's pursuing an MFA.
With your help, we pursue stories that hold leaders to account, demystify opaque city and civic processes, and celebrate the idiosyncrasies that make us proud to call D.C. home. Put simply, our mission is to make it easier — and more fun — to live in the District. Our members help keep local news free and independent for all:
