2013 in history
Here are some light-hearted facts about 2013, designed to serve as a prep sheet for a radio feature on 2013.
I created this page because when I needed some notes to create a few talking points about 2013 in Ireland I couldn't find any suitable sources, so I thought I'd share what I did find. It applies to 2013 in Britain too.
You can also look at years other than 2013:
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2013
It discovered that a lot of beef being sold in shops and restaurants across Britain and Ireland actually contained traces of horse. The chief executive of Iceland, which was famous for its cheap meat, caused further trouble when he told the media: "We have not been testing for horse. Why would we? We don't test for hedgehog either".
Camera chain Jessops closed their doors.
The final Blockbuster stores closed.
Tie Rack closed their stores.
"Selfie" was Oxford's word of the year.
Elf on the Shelf was an international success, and soon became a regular feature of the Christmas season.
The Harlem Shake became a popular meme.
2013 Launches
WhatsApp added the ability to send voice notes.
The short-lived, popular game Flappy Bird was released.
BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) became a big deal for office workers.
Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Kraftwerk, Foals, Jake Bugg, Kodaline, The Maccabees and Hot Chip headlined the first Longitude Festival.
The new iPhone 5s introduced new features like a fingerprint sensor and AirDrop.
2013 in Film
Iron Man 3 was the biggest film of the year.
Other big films include The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Despicable Me 2, Man of Steel, Monsters University, Frozen and Fast & Furious 6.
2013 in TV
Big TV shows of the year (not premiers): I'm A Celebrity, Doctor Who, Strictly Come Dancing, Britain's Got Talent, Still Open All Hours, Downton Abbey and Mrs Brown's Boys.
Splash!, Broadchurch, Rick and Morty and Gogglebox were new on TV.
The increasingly toxic Katie Hopkins had her famous rant about childrens' names on This Morning.
Through the Keyhole relaunched with Leigh Francis as the host.
Catchphrase was relaunched as Stephen Mulhern as host.
Netflix declared that 'binge-watching' would become the new normal for TV.
While these facts about 2013 have been checked against third-party sources (and have been used on air before!), they are provided in good faith to inspire your research and no guarantee is made about their accuracy or their uniqueness. You can use the facts however you wish: most people just take a couple of points they remember and talk around then.
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