UNHAPPY ANNIVERSARY
After a full year of street closures and incessant jackhammering, Natalie Naquin Harvey had had enough of the never-ending roadwork on her street in the southern US city of New Orleans. So Harvey found a way to get even: She threw a birthday party for the repairs, complete with party hats, balloons and a cake, which she decorated with construction equipment, a ‘Road Closed' sign, and a street in shambles-much like the scene outside her front door.
"Happy first birthday to our street construction!” she posted on Facebook beneath a photo of her posing beside a construction excavator. “It was one year ago this week when they first began to rip up our street. One year later, half the street is impassable-just last week, we had a massive six-foot-deep hole!"
The embarrassed city has pledged to speed up the roadwork. As tough as it has been, Harvey does see the bright side, telling bigeasymagazine.com, “I just love any reason to make cake."
YOU HAVE TO LAUGH
Getting laid off can be traumatic. In fact, employees in New Zealand are allowed to have a 'support person' accompany them to the meeting where they get the bad news. Some bring a trusted friend, others a family member. After receiving a meeting invitation that strongly hinted he was about to be let go, Josh Thompson, a copywriter, went a different route: He invited a professional clown to be his booster. He felt sorry for the people who had to deliver the bad news, so he figured, Why not make it fun for everyone? While Thompson was losing his job, the clown made balloon animals and mimed crying. Everyone seemed to enjoy the act, says Thompson. But he admits there was one complication. “It was rather noisy with him making balloon animals, so we had to tell him to be quiet from time to time.”
WHY YOU SHOULDN'T DRINK ALONE
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi
Pushpesh Pant, one of India’s pre-eminent food writers, is back with a comprehensive food history of the capital.
Who Wants Coffee?
It’s bitter—but beloved around the world
Prevent The Pain Of Shingles
You don't have to suffer, as long as you take two important steps
The Best And Worst Diets For Your Heart
Dozens of diets are touted as ‘best’, but it’s easy to lose track of the fact that healthy eating needs to be about overall wellness, not just weight loss.
ME & MY SHELF
Journalist Sopan Joshi has worked in a science and environment framework for nearly three decades. His book Mangifera indica: A Biography of the Mango (Aleph Book Company) synthesizes the sensory appeal of India's favourite fruit with its elaborate cultural roots and natural history. He writes in English and Hindi.
SWITCHED
In 1962, nurses at a small Canadian hospital sent home two women with the wrong babies. Then, 50 years later, their children discovered the shocking mistake.
ECHOES OF THE PAST
A VISIT TO THE ANCIENT BARABAR CAVES IN BIHAR REVEALS A SURPRISING CONNECTION TO A LITERARY CLASSIC
Fathers of the Bride
A young woman finds a unique way to honour the many men who helped her survive her childhood
Fiction's Foresight
British-Bangladeshi author Manzu Islam's works reveal startling parallels to recent political upheavals in Bangladesh, begging the question: Besides helping us make sense of our world, can stories also offer a glimpse into the future?
It Happens ONLY IN INDIA
The Divine Defence Picture this: A tractor in Rajasthan‘s Banswara district,a group of loan agents closing in to seize it and the defaulting farmer and his family standing by.