Last normal photograph: Twitter users share images of pre-pandemic life
Call-out for phone snaps of what were everyday scenes triggers new social media sensation

A Twitter thread asking users to share their “last normal photo” from before the coronavirus outbreak has gone viral, with celebrities among the thousands of people getting in on the action.
Leeds-based journalist Robyn Vinter was bombarded with replies within hours of posting a tweet on Saturday requesting “to see the last normal pic on your phone”.
“I spotted Jon Ronson had replied, and a couple more fairly high-profile people and then I noticed Monica Lewinsky had,” Vinter told The Guardian. “I thought: that’s weird, how did she find my little tweet out of nowhere? Then I saw there were thousands of replies.”
Subscribe to 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.
Other photos posted feature families celebrating birthdays, friends sharing drinks in bars, and “concert-goers jostling against each other. Crowds without a mask in sight and no thought of physical distancing,” says Canada’s CTV News.
Vinter’s call-out was inspired by a BBC article showing “pictures from before we had to come to terms with lockdowns and social distancing”.
One of the photos tagged online with the hashtag #lastnormalphoto in response to a request from the broadcaster shows the wedding of a British couple in the Austrian Alps.
“On the Friday night as our guests arrived, Austria announced they would be shutting down from Sunday. On Saturday 14 March we married, and on the Sunday we were escorted from the resort back to the airport,” groom Tom Archer told the broadcaster.
“The campervan with the wedding cake inside is still in a Munich car park,” he added.
Labour MP Jess Phillips has shared her final pre-pandemic photo too, while freelance journalist Jack Needham tweeted an image that will resonate with many.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Real estate: Rocket's plan to remake homebuying
Feature The mortgage company wants to dominate the homebuying process
By The Week US
-
6 must-see homes in Boston
Feature Featuring a factory-turned-loft in South Boston and a wraparound roof deck in South End
By The Week US
-
The anger fueling the Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez barnstorming tour
Talking Points The duo is drawing big anti-Trump crowds in red states
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK