By Amy Stone, Senior Communications Consultant at Hard Numbers
Metaverse sex, CEOs on psychedelics, shaming people for cake. No, this isn't the HR report from Mark Zuckerberg's 39th birthday, it's a round up of the quirkiest journo requests of 2023.
It’s been a year for some grim news and serious discussions about rising costs of pretty much everything. But - amongst those requests for cost of living commentary and thoughts on the latest AI developments, there are a few hidden gems that can really make you smile and leave you wondering:
“Where on earth is that story going?!”
And we've been tracking them all across the year to bring you a little early Christmas treat.
1) The one with sex in the metaverse
On brand for ‘Where on earth is that story going?’, here's a top tier example from The Express. It’s always nice to see the media getting to the bottom of “important topics” on our behalf and I’m sure many of you will agree that how to have sex in the metaverse has been one of my top concerns for 2023... Jokes aside, when going to a tech expert for sex advice seems like the best course of action, it’s probably time to step away from the computer.
2) The one with the cake shaming
The UK Food Standards Agency set out to ruin every office worker's day with this one, daring to attack one of office life’s simple pleasures - cake. And Channel 5 were here for it. Though I think their offer of bringing ‘sweet treats’ in exchange for filming might have gone down better if they weren’t being compared to passive smoking which the NHS literally describes as a ‘lethal cocktail’. I think I speak for everyone here when I say LEAVE OUR CAKE ALONE. This cake shaming request came mere weeks after Christmas too - the gall. No one needs this kind of slap in the face in January.
3)The one with emotionally unstable plants
First of all, requests like this leave me wondering where these “scientists” got their degrees. Crying plants?!And not to tell a journalist how to do their job but they seem to be missing the bigger story here. An uprising of sentient, emotionally unstable vegetables is the last thing we need in 2024… You heard it here first folks, keep those garden shears close - the plant apocalypse is nigh.
4) The one with the steroid crabs
It wouldn’t be a journo request round-up without a super niche expert request with zero context - and I do appreciate them most when they are intriguing enough to both educate and terrify me. If, like me, you think Chinese Mitten Crabs sound absolutely adorable- go ahead and give that a Google. Personally I think ‘nightmare steroid crabs’ is a more appropriate name. Anyone else think they look a bit like a club bouncer that’s going to throw you out on the street for wearing trainers, or is it just me…?
5) The one with the psychedelic CEOs
Speaking of terrifying, your boss might be on shrooms. Perhaps more alarming is that this journalist doesn’t appear to be looking for commentary that highlights just how problematic this is for employees everywhere but rather thoughts on whether it’s helped CEOs make decisions. Based on the fashion choices of the early 1960s, I’m going to guess it’s a no… So if you’ve noticed your boss being particularly erratic, it’s possibly because he’s taking advice from the talking dog in a bowtie that he’s hallucinated in the corner of his office.
6) The one with the coaster catastrophe
It’s unclear here if the journalist is actually writing an article about coasters or if they’re just looking for some help with their next home purchase. Whatever the situation, clearly this journalist has had an absolute nightmare with their past coaster experiences and I truly feel for them. Too small (!) and too slippery (!!) ?! I honestly don’t know how they’ve kept calm and carried on in such dire circumstances. Imagine their cups of tea just sliding straight off the coaster and onto the table! Shudder. We appreciate and applaud their bravery in seeking help on this very important issue. God knows it can be tough to open up about these things.
And that’s a wrap! If you enjoyed that, you can find last year’s round-up here.
