Woman dials 999 because she paid wrong amount for drink
And other stories from the stranger side of life
A woman called 999 to tell police she’d paid the wrong amount for a bottle of fruit squash in Morrisons. After explaining her error, she said she had tried to take the matter up with the supermarket but they kept hanging up on her. The operator responded: “This is not a police matter and it’s certainly not a 999 emergency.”
The term ‘cyclist’ dehumanises bike riders
Cyclists should instead be called “people who ride bikes” because the former term is dehumanising, according to a new academic study. Researchers said that cyclists have been conceptualised as being “not completely human”, which means they face more aggression from other road users.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Drunk driver uses deodorant as breath freshener
A man pulled over by police in South Carolina on suspicion of drink driving sprayed deodorant into his mouth as an improvised breath freshener before speaking to officers. Efren Mencia-Ramirez’s plan wasn’t entirely successful: officers found him at the wheel with an open can of beer between his legs and nine empty cans on the floor.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
‘The Big Crunch’: why science is divided over the future of the universeThe Explainer New study upends the prevailing theory about dark matter and says it is weakening
-
Quiz of The Week: 1 – 7 NovemberQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
How to invest in the artificial intelligence boomThe Explainer Artificial intelligence is the biggest trend in technology, but there are fears that companies are overvalued
-
Sport on TV guide: Christmas 2022 and New Year listingsSpeed Read Enjoy a feast of sporting action with football, darts, rugby union, racing, NFL and NBA
-
House of the Dragon: what to expect from the Game of Thrones prequelSpeed Read Ten-part series, set 200 years before GoT, will show the incestuous decline of Targaryen
-
One in 20 young Americans identify as trans or non-binarySpeed Read New research suggests that 44% of US adults know someone who is transgender
-
The Turner Prize 2022: a ‘vintage’ shortlist?Speed Read All four artists look towards ‘growth, revival and reinvention’ in their work
-
What’s on TV this Christmas? The best holiday televisionSpeed Read From films and documentaries to musicals for all the family
-
Coco vision: up close to Chanel opticalsSpeed Read Parisian luxury house adds opticals to digital offering
-
Abba returns: how the Swedish supergroup and their ‘Abba-tars’ are taking a chance on a reunionSpeed Read From next May, digital avatars of the foursome will be performing concerts in east London
-
‘Turning down her smut setting’: how Nigella Lawson is cleaning up her recipesSpeed Read Last week, the TV cook announced she was axing the word ‘slut’ from her recipe for Slut Red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly