The Top Ten Wildcards of 2012

A regular feature of the This Week in Mentalists round-ups is the wildcard. This is intended as a bit of fun that injects some lightness at the end of discussing what can often be difficult and unhappy subject matter. The TWIM author submits something non-mental health related that they found interesting or enjoyable that particular week.

We’ve had some pretty eye-opening submissions over the past year. For that reason, here are my 10 favourite wildcards of 2012, presented in no particular order.

Mark Brown gave us a series of rhetorical questions by Robert Kilroy-Silk.

Victoria Betton provided a ventriloquist’s performance with a difference.

Back in November, I linked to a blog post reviewing a 10 hour performance by David Icke.

Whenever people mention Icke, they always say that he thinks “lizards control the world”. I’m not sure why people always pick up on the fact they’re “lizards”. He’s talking about multi-dimensional beings from space controlling humanity. Is the oddest thing about that idea really the fact that those multi-dimensional beings happen to resemble lizards? Although I thought he cheated slightly at one point. He was explaining how ancient cultures all over the world depict reptilian beings in their art and folklore – the Uraeus of ancient Egypt, the serpent in the Garden of Eden, the Chinese dragon. In this list, he also included the story of the Frog Prince. That doesn’t count, surely. Frogs are amphibians. You can’t claim them as “reptilian” just because they’re green. That’s like saying a cucumber is a lizard.

Sanabitur Anima Mea highlighted the unique phenomenon that is crime-fighting guinea pigs.

Obsessively Compulsively Yours discovered that even an orang-utan can use an iPad.

Susan’s cat found a blog of cats eating ice cream. For example:

Pandora reported on an unfortunate error in journalism.

TV reporter mistakes sex toy for rare mushroom

A trainee TV reporter was left red-faced after accidentally mistaking a male sex toy for what she believed was a rare mushroom.

Novice reporter Ye Yunfeng was sent to investigate when Xi’an TV station received a tip-off about the ‘strange fungi’ growing in a Chinese village.

Believing the sex aid was a ‘rare medicinal Taisui mushroom’, Ms Yunfeng then proceeded to film an in-depth feature about the sex toy.

It involved several dubious close-ups and a detailed explanation about the conditions needed for the ‘mushroom’ to grow.

Describing the toy, the reporter commented: ‘We can see there is something like a mouth; and on the other side there is a hole that connects all the way through to the other end.

‘It is very smooth. It feels very much like meat.’

Xi’an TV realised its mistake after being bombarded with calls by members of the public who pointed out it was actually a sex toy for men.

The station published an apology over the incident online, saying: ‘The incident was purely due to the inexperience of our young reporter. We say sorry.’

Sanabitur Anima Mea found a charming tribute to the triumph of intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism.

Katie from Giant Fossilized Armadillo supplied a LOTR remix.

And finally, just to put you all off your Boxing Day dinners, Cimmerianink gave us Jame Oliver’s explanation of the culinary delights of pink slime.