2018 in history
Here are some light-hearted facts about 2018, designed to serve as a prep sheet for a radio feature on 2018.
I created this page because when I needed some notes to create a few talking points about 2018 in Ireland I couldn't find any suitable sources, so I thought I'd share what I did find. It applies to 2018 in Britain too.
You can also look at years other than 2018:
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2018
The 'Beast from the East' brought snow across Britain and Ireland. In Dublin, a large group of people demolished a Lidl store to loot it; a strange moment that was recreated at many St Patrick's Day parades.
There was a shortage of bread as people panicked about the idea of a few days of snow.
People became obsessed with the 'Yanny or Laurel' clip.
KFC stores across Britain ran out of chicken, after they gave a delivery contract to a new company who didn't realise how much work was involved. One angry woman told the news, "I've had to go to Burger King".
Banksy's painting 'Love is in the Bin' shredded itself immediately after it was sold at aucition.
The British government were mocked for awarding a £14 million Brexit ferry contract to Seaborne Freight, a company that didn't own any ferries.
A shortage of drivers combined with strikes led to chaos on trains across northern England. The main operator blamed "collective system inability" as it eventually had its right to run the service revoked.
Toys R Us ceased trading.
12 children and their coach were rescued from a flooded cave in Tham Luang in Thailand, in an operation that took 18 days.
Maplin closed all their stores.
There was chaos at Gatwick Airport as a drone caused flights to be suspended a few days before Christmas. The mystery was never fully solved.
The first bionic hand that also has a sense of touch was placed on somebody's body.
Little Chef were finally forced to close, after over 15 years of decline.
US President Donald Trump met North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un, just months after a Twitter spat in which they called each other "short and fat" and "dotard".
Theresa May was photographed holding hands with Donald Trump, apparently to help him down the stairs.
Kellie Harrington won gold in the lightweight division at the Women's World Boxing Championships
Taylor Swift's Reputation tour played two nights at Croke Park, making her the first female to do so.
Ireland voted to remove blasphemy laws.
Ireland's first Circle K opened, after the company took over Topaz.
2018 Launches
Sally Rooney's Normal People was published.
Milton Keynes became a test town for new self-controlling delivery robots.
2018 in Film
Black Panther was the biggest film of the year.
Other big films include Avengers: Infinity War, Incredibles 2, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Deadpool 2, The Grinch, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Ant-Man and the Wasp, A Star Is Born, Aquaman, Bohemian Rhapsody and A Quiet Place.
2018 in TV
Derry Girls was a huge success.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was relaunched with Jeremy Clarkson as the host.
Love Island became a huge format. The final was watched by 3.37 million people, where Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham won.
The latest series of Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway was suspended after Ant McPartlin was involved in a car crash and admitted driving while under the influence. There had been months of rumours that he was unwell.
Succession began streaming.
Will & Grace was back on TV after 11 years.
TV3 was rebranded as Virgin Media One.
Ireland's Got Talent began its two-year run.
While these facts about 2018 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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