A look back at ten things from 2014
Ten things to consider this New Year's
What a year it's been! In the last twelve months EP has featured some of the more unusual and eyebrow-raising stories from around the world. As we head into 2015, here's a round up of some of the most popular and commented on stories. Happy New Year from everyone at EP
- Including slavery, death, witchcraft, junk food, evolution, rats, roaches, lice, spiders, the age of the solar system, Halloween, running away, politics, religion, dieting, divorce, violence and anything (potentially) offensive, the extraordinarily long CAHSEE list of topics banned from school exams in California leaves very little on the approved syllabus
- This was the year when two former NASA workers came forward with the alarming claim that, not only was there a secret manned mission to Mars in 1979 but that the expedition also caught “proof of life” on the Red Planet
- “Anyone lost a huge amount of cannabis in the Burnley area? Don’t panic, we found it! Pop in to the station to collect it.. #we’rewaiting” Tongue placed firmly in cheek, Burnley Police also Tweeted an offer of a night's complimentary accommodation for the "rightful owner"
- IITYWTMWYBMAD? FMTOAFYTFO! EOTWAWKI! BTDTGTTAWIO! The FBI became something of a laughing stock after a ridiculous internal list of Twitter shorthand surfaced
- It’s official, the best way to succeed in business is to sleep your way to the top! Research shows that "power napping" in the middle of the working day can improve efficiency and attention levels
- A US firm claimed to have designed a machine which uses “reverse atmospheric infusion” to make the perfect brew At a cost of $13,000 per unit, however, how much do you really fancy a cuppa?
- “Hell hath no fury like - a buyer scorned!” Ed Joseph was so irate at a Gumtree seller who failed to deliver the games console he’d purchased that he exacted revenge by texting the entire works of Shakespeare - all 30,000 words of it, delivered in 29,305 individual messages!
- That's just not funny! Suffering a "momentary lapse of reason", 60 year old Venezuelan Dr. Manuel Alvarado made a terrible "joke" about carrying C-4 explosives in his luggage while passing through security at Miami International Airport. The ill-timed quip resulted in a forced evacuation of the building and a penalty fine of $89,172 for the medicine man
- Don’t get caught with your pants down in the town of Pikeville, Tennessee. Officials are really "cracking down" on any fashion faux pas with the introduction of on-the-spot fines for men wearing trousers below the waist
- “He’s not dead, he’s just meditating!” Followers of the Divine Light Awakening Mission were convinced that, despite suffering a fatal heart attack he suffered 6 weeks previously coupled with the fact his body was being stored in a freezer, their spiritual leader, Ashutosh Maharaj, was not dead but rather just in samadhi, the deepest form of meditation
For more information on initiatives run by EP and to get involved with the community please contact Arlene McCaffrey