It was the yr that the
Queen celebrated 60 years on the throne, the
UK basked within the reflected glory of its Olympic and Paralympic athletes and the US re-elected Barack Obama as president. But 2012 also saw different points
capture the eye of BBC News website readers. From a toddler's encounter with a
hungry lion to amateur makes an
attempt to revive a fresco of Christ, listed here are a few of essentially the most-shared tales of the previous 12 months. The 12 months began with a three-yr-previous girl's victory over supermarket big Sainsbury's. After her missive went viral, Sainsbury's duly renamed its loaves and conceded its original resolution may have been "a bit silly". January was also the month when former Blockbusters host Bob
Holness died at the age of 83, following a collection of strokes. In a
broadcasting profession spanning six a long time, we discovered, he had become the second actor to play James Bond when he starred in a 1956 adaptation of Moonraker. And footage emerged of a young Australian woman plunging into the crocodile-infested Zambezi River, when her bungee rope snapped in two. The loss of life of singer Whitney Houston at a Los Angeles hotel shocked stars who had gathered there for a celebration ahead of the Grammy Awards. Some of the celebrated female singers of all time, the latter part of her career had been overshadowed by substance abuse. A coroner later ruled that Ms
Houston drowned after cocaine use. Suggestions that the necessity for an need for an eight-hour sleep could possibly be a delusion captured the eye of readers. Although many individuals fear about
mendacity awake in the middle of the night time, it might actually be good to have two four-hour naps punctuated by wakefulness - and time to reflect on our dreams. Research suggesting chocolate 'may keep folks slim' was widely thought-about as deserving of additional investigation - and sharing.
American academics stated that individuals who
eat chocolate commonly are
typically thinner, presumably as a result of it incorporates ingredients that favour weight loss. Somewhat frustratingly, nevertheless, experts advised caution "within the absence of conclusive evidence". In Kuwait, the Kazakh capturing staff had been stunned when a comedy national anthem from the film Borat was played at a medal ceremony. Organisers had mistakenly downloaded the parody from the web and, as Kazakhstan's coach identified, had additionally obtained the Serbian anthem incorrect. Within the US it was Batman who was causing trouble, when police pulled over a Lamborghini driven by a man dressed as the
Caped Crusader. The chance to research where you are on the
global pay scale also generated great interest. Based on figures for seventy two international locations,
omitting among the poorest, readers who entered their
month-to-month salary had been able to check whether or not they earned extra or less than the world common. Plans to allow the federal government to monitor the calls, emails, texts and webpage visits of everyone within the UK emerged at the start of April. The proposals, which would
require web firms to give
GCHQ access to
communications in actual time, had been described by Tory MP David Davis as "an unnecessary extension of the power of the state to snoop". The draft Communications Data Bill stays controversial. Footage from an airport in Bilbao, Spain,
confirmed planes struggling to remain stable as extraordinarily high winds blew them throughout the runway. Some pilots had second thoughts and determined to not land. The reply was nearly definitely "no" - the monarch might be the most effective-travelled in history and, by May, had been to 116 countries excluding the UK. May additionally noticed the epic journey of a
stray canine who completed a
thousand-mile (1,700km) journey across China.
Nicknamed Xiaosa, the dog joined cyclists on a 24-day trip from
Sichuan province to Tibet after certainly one of them gave him meals. In the US, a hungry lioness called Kya was
filmed desperately attempting to achieve a toddler on the
opposite facet of
safety glass. The youngster, Jack, remained solely unfazed. An
investigation into why British individuals are, on average, nearly three stone (19kg) heavier than they were 50 years
ago led to a more in-depth have a look at one of many nation's greatest fried breakfasts. Called the
Challenge Kidz Breakfast because, at 9lb (4kg), it weighs the identical as a small youngster, the dish features eight eggs, 12
rashers of bacon, 12 sausages, potatoes, mushrooms, hash browns, black pudding, beans and 12 slices of bread. Continuing with weighty issues, July offered the prospect to see the place you're on the worldwide fat scale. The results included a
calculation of how a lot heavier (or lighter) the world's population can be if everybody
weighed the same as you. As the Olympics approached,
torrential rain gave
approach to clear skies and armchair athletes limbered up for a festival of sport. Many selected to analyze their Olympic athlete physique match, although no records have been saved as to the number who discovered they have been extra shot putter than lengthy-distance runner. The tale of an 18
-month tour of Africa that turned into a 23-12 months, 500,000-mile drive noticed a former German airline govt recount his extraordinary
journey world wide. The
remarkable work of an elderly parishioner who took it upon herself to repair a broken but prized Jesus
Christ fresco alarmed cultural officials close to Zaragoza, Spain.
Cecilia Gimenez, who is in her 80s, was reportedly upset at the way in which the fresco had deteriorated and took it on herself to "restore" it. She has since demanded royalties after the botched image became a success with vacationers. He was remembered by US President Barack Obama as "amongst the greatest of American heroes - not simply of his time, however of all time". And in a area in Essex, a
lion hunt involving armed police and
helicopters began after a sighting close to a
caravan park. No lion was found. The demise of wildlife presenter Terry Nutkins on the age of sixty six prompted tributes for his work on wildlife programmes including Animal Magic and The Really Wild Show. Presenter Ben Fogle described Nutkins, a father of eight, as considered one of his "childhood inspirations", whereas
comic Ricky Gervais said he was a "completely nice chap". Meanwhile, the
Britishisation of American English
stirred debate in regards to the unfold in the US of terms like "spot on", "ginger", "will do" and "chattering lessons". Jesse Sheidlower,
American editor at giant of the Oxford English Dictionary. Because the US prepared to vote and pollsters struggled to separate
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, many of you took the chance to remove uncertainty and predict the president. While a number of the consultants the BBC consulted
suggested a narrow win for Obama, others opted for Romney, or perhaps a lifeless heat. In the UK there was a victory of types for an elderly couple who, police mentioned, had unwittingly grown "the biggest cannabis plant" that they had ever seen. The couple had carefully tended the plant since buying it at a automobile boot sale. Police mentioned it can be destroyed. The story of the world's poorest president provided a pointy distinction to the scenes in Washington. Uruguayan chief Jose Mujica lives on a ramshackle farm owned by his spouse and offers away 90% of his $12,000 (£7,500)
monthly salary. His water comes from a well. An
enormous schnauzer and his canine associates learning to drive automobiles in New Zealand grabbed the eye of many readers in December. The
driving college was set up by a charity eager to show how
intelligent its
expenses are. After months of practising gear modifications, controlling the brakes and using the steering wheel, graduates are rewarded with a spin round a discipline. It's hoped that many of them can even discover new
properties.
