On the last week of every year, we’re always asking ourselves: was this year the worst year ever? It’s a relatively new tradition, this is, breathing a monumental sigh of relief that it’s all finally over. Especially so if you’re American; ’twas not a very fun year all around.
In Singapore though, life goes on as usual (despite a highly dramatic middle of the year), and one of the ways we survive the daily grind here is by discovering the wackiest, weirdest stories and deliver it right to your digital doorstep. Here are the top news/viral pieces that you folks thoroughly clicked on, according to our friend Google Analytics. Flashback time!
American man wages Twitter war against The Straits Times’ usage of British English, because ‘Murica
It was on American against the world as he butted heads with The Straits Times on Twitter… over the usage of British English. Dude didn’t even yield when he was corrected and asserted that Singapore’s biggest English-language broadsheet newspaper should actually be using American English instead just for his entitled, patriotic sake. Make American English great again, we suppose.
Singaporean tourist ignores warnings not to get too close to Komodo dragons, so of course he got bitten
One Singaporean almost scored himself a Darwin Award when he ignored warnings from locals not to get too close to the feisty beasts that roam in Komodo National Park in Indonesia. A dragon chomped down hard on his left leg while he was taking pictures, and he was fortunate to survive the venomous bite.
This social media marketing platform’s ad is everything wrong with today’s influencer-obsessed generation
Dismantling the air-headed antics of social media influencers (both established and wannabes) is a personal métier of our senior reporter Ilyas Sholihyn, and this year’s best takedown would have to be the righteous roast of Faves Asia’s malignant commercial. Oh, what fun.
Internet savagely rips apart the choices for Miss Singapore Beauty Pageant 2017
Miss Singapore Beauty Pageant (not to be confused with the actual Miss Singapore Universe) held a talent and fashion show with their 2017 finalists, and nobody gave a damn. Until a picture of them was uploaded on Facebook, and boy did the internet have a lot of things to say about it.
Some young Caucasians have been panhandling at Tampines to fund their trip around the world
Ah, begpackers, the annoying scourge of Southeast Asian streets. A highly common sight in Thailand and Malaysia, some made it to Tampines earlier this year to spread their message of love, hope and donating money to support their God-given right to see the world.
YouTube channel Night Owl Cinematics gets righteously called out for casual racism in its videos
It’s a well-accepted fact that career YouTubers rank highly among the most annoying individuals in the world, and local ones are no different. Take Night Owl Cinematics, for example, who produced a makeup video that managed to be simultaneously racist, unfunny and basic AF.
Drunk old man violently accosts American man for sex on the MRT
This highly odd and horrible public altercation on an MRT train saw a dirty old man demanding for sex from a young American man — so much so that the latter was even slapped for using a “vulgar word”.
Horrendous accident sees motorbike pillion flung into the air after collision with stationary car
As far as shocking dash cam videos go, this was one of the worst ones from this year. This clip of a motorcyclist and a pillion getting thrown into the air after a crash on the Seletar Expressway should give other riders severe chills.
Mistaken identity? Trump mistakes Singapore’s PM Lee for Indonesia’s Jokowi
2017 is the year that you can’t escape from headlines regarding Trump, and this year’s biggest connection between the US president and Singapore was the fact that Trump (or his social media aide) mistook Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for Indonesian president Joko Widodo. Oof.
Infamous professional beggar Benjamin Holst denied entry into Singapore — twice
After duping folks in Bangkok, Manila, Bali, and KL — where he spent his “donations” on drinking, partying, and prostitutes — professional beggar Benjamin Holst found his reputation had preceded him when he was repeatedly denied entry into Singapore back in April. Last we heard of him was that he actually found a wife in The Gambia, so we guess 2017 ended on a good note for him.
