The Montgonion Enters the ‘Terrible Twos’

ROCKVILLE, MD — Montgomery County’s parody and satire website, The Montgonion, is celebrating its second anniversary. From outlandish tales of African fauna taking over public green spaces to biting satire aimed at local officials, The Montgonion has attracted a loyal fan-base and more than a quarter million visitors.

The Montgonion burst onto the Internet in January 2023 with headlines like “An Extinct Volcano is Waking up in Maryland” (about Sugarloaf mountain) and “Frozen Alligator Dragged from Occoquan Reservoir.” The latter prompted the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority to issue a statement assuring the public that Fountainhead Park is gator-free.

The Montgonion creates an often cartoonish Montgomery County mirror image of current trending topics and events. The hype around last April’s solar eclipse inspired “MCPS Eclipse Closing Decision Expected by 5am Monday” which mimicked a typical school system winter weather announcement. When news of Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar’s pet hippo population explosion was making the rounds, The Montgonion released “Anacostia ‘Crack Hippos’ Spotted in Sligo Creek” and said the same thing happened to Rayful Edmunds’ exotic pets.

While many Montgonion articles are parodies just for fun, others use satire to address controversial current events. Montgomery County Public Schools is a frequent target. A spate of overdoses and violent activity in school bathrooms yielded “MCPS to Hire 2,800 Bathroom Attendants” with tuxedoed staff handing out mints, cologne and Narcan. Parent protests over classroom reading material led to “Opt-Out Protests Intensify as MCPS Parents Resist Horticulture Curriculum,” due to a unit on hermaphroditic plants.

The Montgonion is a parody of local news websites in general, but it often mimics, and sometimes mocks, The MoCoShow. That was made clear on Montgonion’s first day online, when “The MoCo Show: Napkin Holder Screws Replaced at Germantown Wendy’s” parodied the popular news site’s occasional reporting of issues mundane to all but a hyper-local group. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness, The Montgonion reminds.

In 2024 The Montgonion expanded its repertoire with physical exhibits designed to create public discourse. After “Glenmont Galleria Plans Clear Council” went viral, claiming the decrepit Glenmont Shopping Center was being replaced with an 8-story luxury shopping mall, The Montgonion installed an 8-foot “coming soon” mall banner at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Layhill Road. The Montgonion says that stunt wasn’t about ridiculing a rundown property or fooling a community but rather amplifying a conversation about an uncomfortable neighborhood problem. In that regard it worked, with hundreds of people discussing how to reinvigorate the decaying former neighborhood hub on Facebook, Nextdoor and X.

Some readers confuse Montgonion stories for real and the publisher is unapologetic about it. The articles are written in the style of traditional news, but with often ludicrous clues to the contrary. The publisher says anyone applying a modicum of critical thinking should be able to recognize fact from fiction in The Montgonion.

Although Montgonion articles are not labeled as satire or parody, the website’s “About” page makes it clear, “Discontinue reading if any pain, irritation, or discomfort occurs. To avoid injury or aggravation of pre-existing conditions avoid reading with wine and Ambien. Please seek psychological advice if irritation does occur.”

The Montgonion’s creator was kept mum until the end of 2023, when Washington Post reporter John Kelly revealed Glenn Fellman as the source of photoshopped pictures of Lake First Mall sculptures installed at incongruous landmarks around the Olney and Gaithersburg. Fellman is a lifelong Montgomery County resident and local small business owner who says The Montgonion was originally intended as a ruse to promote his company, Headlight Restoration Montgomery, but quickly took on a life of its own. His headlight company continues to underwrite The Montgonion’s expenses but rarely advertises because readers thought its ads were fake too.

The Montgonion is preparing to unleash a whole new level of hijinx in 2025 as it toddles into the terrible twos, the publisher says. You can find The Montgonion on Facebook, Nextdoor, X and Bluesky with the handle @mongonion, or on the internet at www.montgonion.com.

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