George W Bush performs ‘history’s greatest Freudian slip’
And other stories from the stranger side of life
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
George W Bush accidentally condemned the “unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq”, in what has been described on social media as “history’s greatest Freudian slip”. During a speech in Texas, the former US president, 75, corrected himself to say he had meant to refer to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Michael Williams, a reporter from Dallas News who originally shared the clip on Twitter, described the gaffe as a “significant verbal slip-up”.
Stonehenge builders’ poo reveals startling fact
The builders of Stonehenge took part in winter feasts that included the internal organs of animals, according to parasite eggs discovered in 4,500-year-old human faeces. Experts say they have discovered intestinal parasites in the prehistoric plops – or coprolites – recovered from the ancient rubbish dumps of a settlement where the site’s construction workers lived. “It is the earliest where we know the origin of the person who went to the toilet,” one of the researchers told The Guardian.
Elderly defy stereotypes on TikTik
Elderly people are flocking to TikTok, defying ageist stereotypes of OAPs being technophobic and frail. A new study, which examined 1,382 videos posted by TikTok users aged 60 or over and with at least 100,000 followers, found that 71% featured older adults defying age stereotypes, while 18% featured them making light of age-related vulnerabilities. The Times reported that the “glamma” – or glamorous grandma – was “a recurring motif” in such videos.
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
Switzerland could vote to cap its populationUnder the Radar Swiss People’s Party proposes referendum on radical anti-immigration measure to limit residents to 10 million
-
Political cartoons for February 15Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include political ventriloquism, Europe in the middle, and more
-
The broken water companies failing England and WalesExplainer With rising bills, deteriorating river health and a lack of investment, regulators face an uphill battle to stabilise the industry
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military