NewsflareYears from now, when historians look back at the early 2000s, there will be many, many things to observe.
From the monumental repercussions of things like Trump, Brexit, pollution and global warming, to the rise of the internet, smart phones and AI, humans (probably under control from said AI/Skynet) will look back and instead of wondering where it all went wrong, they’ll just know.
However, in amongst all the outwardly negative stuff, they will also invariably come across rare moments of brilliance, things that kept us going through the dark times. Perhaps a funny meme or old Vine, or the clever use of an object for something other than its intended purpose.
Like this lady, who – I think – proves there’s hope for us yet:
As the video shows, upon entering the crowded bus, the woman can see it’s so full there isn’t even a spare handle to grab to stabilise herself for the journey ahead.
Seemingly unfazed by the situation however, she whips out her trusty toilet plunger, whacks it up on the ceiling and hey presto, she’s got herself a makeshift bus handle, the journey is no longer perilous and unsteady underfoot. Instead, she got a handle on things, she got a grip of herself and took matters into her own hands.
Of course, with great power comes great responsibility. Who knew toilet plungers had so many uses other than plunging toilets? This woman has unblocked something mysterious and powerful here, let’s just hope she knows how to handle it.
While you might rather not carry around a dirty toilet plunger all day just in case you can’t find a seat on the bus, I’d say it’s preferable to sitting down and finding your bus seat infested with creepy-crawlies.
Which is what a woman in Philadelphia happened upon while taking the bus downtown. The creepy-crawlies in question? Bedbugs. Ugh.
Bedbugs, in case you don’t know, are small blood-sucking insects that live in cracks and crevices in and around beds. They crawl out at night and bite exposed skin to feed on blood. Lovely stuff. They aren’t dangerous, nor do they spread any diseases, but being bitten isn’t great, is it.
Check it out:
The unfortunate bus passenger, named Crystal Lopez, said:
I was on the 26 bus and was on my way to Bridge St to board the 56 bus when I started feeling A [sic] burning itching sensation throughout my entire left arm the next thing you know I look and it’s over a thousand bed bugs and I get up and quickly notify the driver and she pulled the bus over, letting everyone off. As we waited for the supervisor I also caught a very bad allergic reaction.
Getting rid of bedbugs is notoriously difficult. Your best bet, if you are in the unfortunately position of having them somewhere in your house, is to contact your local council or a pest control firm that’s a member of the British Pest Control Association or National Pest Technicians Association.
They’ll be round with their toilet plungers to save the day in no time.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.