October 23, 2015

Top News Stories –

Cats are terrified of cucumbers and no one knows exactly why –
People on the internet have been playing a charming joke on/causing uncalled-for distress to their cats by placing cucumbers behind them while they eat. It has to be specifically a cucumber. Pet owners have been trying it out for themselves and filming the responses. In order for the trick to work, you apparently have to place a cucumber quietly behind a cat while it is eating. When the cat turns around and notices the cucumber, you get quite an interesting response. They don’t see it first, but when they do, look out. The trend has reached reddit, and there is a dedicated thread called ‘cucumbers scaring cats’. [Daily Telegraph] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

Cat gets scared by a sneaky cucumber

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 Adele #Patricia #TalkTalk
2 #CanYouRespectNiall Adele #FridayFeeling
3 #12hNerds Anthony Hamilton #SoundsGoodFeelsGood
4 Amancio Ortega #CamilaAppreciationDay #wearitpink
5 #HuracanPatricia Tennessee State University #CanYouRespectNiall
6 Hayırlı Cumalar Baby Hitler Adele
7 Jessica Jones #CanYouRespectNiall Jessica Jones
8 #النصر_الشباب #SpookyBands #bbcqt
9 #SoundsGoodFeelsGood Jessica Jones #BringBackLukeIsAPenguin
10 BeliebersVoteEMA #hurricanepatricia Duppy Riddim

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October 24, 2015

Top News Stories –

Hurricane Patricia hits, spares Mexico of major damage so far –
Hurricane Patricia, the record-breaking category 5 hurricane, rumbled across western Mexico early on Saturday, uprooting trees and triggering some landslides but causing less damage than feared for such a massive storm, officials said. Authorities relocated coastal residents, evacuated tourists from beach hotels and closed sea ports, airports and schools in several states before Patricia made landfall in Jalisco state as a huge category five hurricane. Patricia had grown into the strongest hurricane ever recorded hours before reaching the coast, raising fears that it would bring death and destruction across the country. [Daily Telegraph] Astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted this picture of the storm from the Space Station
Scott Kelly image Hurricane Patricia from Space Station

Lenin statue given Darth Vader makeover –
A statue of Vladimir Lenin in the Ukrainian city of Odessa has been given a sci-fi twist – by being transformed into Darth Vader. The statue, in the grounds of a factory in the Black Sea port city, had been earmarked for removal under the country’s “de-communisation” law. But instead, it now wears the instantly recognisable shiny black helmet and mask of the Star Wars villain, the local Dumskaya news website reports. “Everything flows and nothing abides,” says warehouse manager Semyon Horbunov, taking inspiration from the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. “New heroes replace old ones, and this is how the world goes round.” But while the monument is Darth Vader on the outside, deep down it’s still Lenin. “The bronze Lenin was left inside, so that the grateful or not-so-grateful descendants could exhume him, if needed,” sculptor Alexander Milov is quoted is saying by Ukraine Today. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Humans In 1000 Years – ASAP Science

Top Twitter Trends –

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1 #ALDubEBTamangPanahon #DinahAppreciationDay #BlameCorbyn
2 #PrayForMexico #1YearSinceStealMyGirl #HurricanePatricia
3 VoteNOWBelieber #HowNotToBePoor Kirsty Howard
4 #1YearSinceStealMyGirl Maureen O’Hara Baby Hitler
5 #Teleton2015 Liam and Sophia Chelsea
6 #DinahAppreciationDay #ALDubEBTamangPanahon #NZLvRSA
7 #WelcomeToBrazilAriana Al Golden #BeijingePrix
8 Maureen O’Hara Stillwater #HeadlinesForSongs
9 Sophiam #IAmNotJust #FIL2015
10 Chelsea #IDPJJ Peter Baldwin

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December 27, 2015

Top News Stories –

Eiffel Tower joins Twitter and receives a warm welcome from Statue of Liberty and Taj Mahal –
When a 126-year-old woman took to Twitter for the first time this week, the Taj Mahal and the Statue of Liberty were so impressed that they sent her tweets to congratulate her. But this was no ordinary old lady – it was the Eiffel Tower, the world’s most visited monument, taking its first steps on the wildly popular microblogging site. “Parisian since 1889, now I am sparkling on Twitter!” said one of the first tweets, in both English and French, on the official account of the 1,063 ft-high tower nicknamed La Grande Dame by its creator, Gustave Eiffel. The tower that each year attracts more than seven million visitors from across the globe, already has around 1.7 million fans on its Facebook account but until this week had kept away from Twitter. Its arrival there this week, under the username @LaTourEiffel, was quickly hailed by direct tweets from the official accounts of other world-renowned monuments. [Daily Telegraph]
Staue of Liberty Tweet

Star Wars: The Force Awakens becomes fastest to take $1bn –
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has become the fastest film to take $1bn (£674m) at the global box office. JJ Abrams’ film achieved the feat in 12 days, beating the previous record of 13 days set by Jurassic World in June.
But while Jurassic World had the benefit of record takings in China over the period, The Force Awakens has yet to open there. Star Wars also scored the biggest US Christmas Day box office takings in history with $49.3m (£33.2m). The film took $153.5m (£103.5m) in the US in its second weekend, bringing its total domestic haul to $544.6m (£367m). [BBC]

Christmas time storms, tornadoes kill at least 43 in U.S. –
Storms hit the U.S. South, Southwest and Midwest over the Christmas holiday weekend, unleashing floods and tornadoes that killed at least 43 people, flattened buildings and snarled transportation for millions during a busy travel time. The bad weather, or the threat of it, prompted the governors of Missouri and New Mexico to declare a state of emergency for their states. Flash floods killed at least 13 people in Missouri and Illinois. In Missouri, emergency workers have evacuated residents from their homes and conducted dozens of water rescues, Governor Jay Nixon said on Sunday. He said at least eight people had been killed and numerous roadways had been closed. [Reuters]

British soldiers aid evacuation in flood-hit northern England –
British soldiers helped evacuate hundreds of people from rising floodwaters in the historic city of York on Sunday, after heavy rainfall inundated towns and cities across northern England. Prime Minister David Cameron pledged more military help for the region as the army was deployed to move 300 to 400 people from their homes in York, where the River Ouse was expected to continue rising until Monday, the local council said. Some 100 soldiers were also helping emergency services in the hardest hit areas of West Yorkshire, including Leeds, police said, after the region suffered its worst flooding in 70 years. [Reuters]

Video of the Day –

The Christmas Human – Wishing you a very Christmas merry! from Andre Maat on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Google Trends 2015 –
Top Searches – Global News

Isis

Top Twitter Trends –

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1 #زد_رصيدك44 Peyton Manning #yorkfloods
2 가요대전 #DepressABeatlesSong #RecipeWizard
3 #ANECUP #GBvsAZ #AndThenThereWereNone
4 #ÚltimoDomingoDoAnoSdvDTr #MichaelIsOurSafetyPin #BigGame8
5 #FelizDomingo #mattylovesya #DepressABeatlesSong
6 #TeamBernardoFordGoesToJapan Chyna #SAvENG
7 #MyBebeLoveDay3 #5SOSIsDeadParty #2015bestnine
8 #حكمه_انت_ماشي_… #PlatonicActivity #5SOSIsDeadParty
9 #علمتني_الرياض… #2016PopCulturePredictions Lynton Crosby
10 #5SOSIsDeadParty #ThinkBIGSundayWithMarsha COBRA

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