The longest ever wait for a bus Infographic

I'm a public transport kind of guy, but there are times when you just need a taxi.

©2015 James Mathurin

Least succesful telemarketing campaign Infographic

I've worked in telemarketing. It didn't involve dogs, which was probably a plus.

©2014 James Mathurin

The most animals to stand as candidates in the same election Infographic

Politics is a dirty business.Dirty and strange. And sometimes kind of cute.

©2013 James Mathurin

Bepe, infographic-style

This week is kind of an experiment, a way of presenting TYDKYDNTK articles is a more visual, share-friendly format. Feedback is, as always, appreciated. I'm sure you all remember Bepé, from a few weeks ago.

Edit:
Here's an edited version I made based on feedback from the Facebook page, which I've placed above the original:

 ©2013 James Mathurin

Bepé, the Hitman's dog

In 2012, Francois "Franky" Petitmal was implicated in 13 attempted and 9 successful assassinations across Europe and Central America between 2003 and 2009. Petitmal was notorious for always being accompanied by his dog, Bepé, a Boxer / Australian Stumpy-tailed cattle dog mongrel. 

Several witnesses from the failed assassinations spoke in court about having seen Bepé playing active roles in several cases, including supplying ammunition, distracting security, and mauling bodyguards. After protracted discussions,  prosecutors, in an unprecedented step, indicted Bepé as an accessory in a total of 15 cases.

While being transported to a hearing in November 2010, Bepé slipped free of his guards, dived through a passing tram, and lost himself in the crowd. He is still wanted, at large, and considered dangerous.

Bepé has not been seen since since November 2010, although a dog fitting his description was photographed, parachuting into an Eastern European demilitarised zone. Investigators connected to the Petitmal case have looking into the possibility that Bepé may be operating as a soldier of fortune. Photograph by by ♪_Lisa_♪.

 ©2013 James Mathurin

The longest ever wait for a bus

The longest ever wait for a bus was endured by Louisa Bacheaux, in a suburb of Regina, in Canada. After arriving at a bus stop on the morning of May 15th, she then waited for 8 weeks and 5 days for her bus, with her family being forced to bring her food and supplies throughout. It transpired that, due to a bureaucratic oversight, some 17 bus stops had been installed, and timetables and promotional material sent out, but 6 months before buses were built. Although it was not until 2 weeks after Bacheaux began her wait that this was recognised,she refused to leave the stop, saying,

"I've been waiting for my bus for two weeks now, the timetable says 10-15 minutes, and I'm not leaving until it arrives."

Bacheaux's family's dog, Blancie, who carried many of her supplies to and from her home to the bus stop on a wagon built by her son, Max. Photograph by GIANTsqurl.

  ©2012 James Mathurin 

The most animals to stand as candidates in the same election

The most animals to stand as candidates in the same election stands at 19, in the Local Authority elections of Bitstock, a town in Devon, Britain, in 2002. Candidates included Oscar, a Chinchilla (Independent), Lord Somersby, a Great Bernard (Independent), and Phillipa, a Baboon (Sum Dum Monkey Party). Oscar’s campaign manager and owner, Brenda Milthorne explained, “This was an organised protest over the fact that, despite 15 years of mismanagement and, many believe, corruption, our Local Authority is still headed by Dame Shirley Atkins, a convicted criminal who has expressed utter contempt for local democracy, and lives in Spain for 11 months out of every year.” Ms. Milthorne insisted that the number of candidates for the ‘animal protest vote’ may have been too high, as the number of votes they gained would have got 3 of them onto the Local Authority if it had been shared between fewer candidates.

Although none of the nominated "Bitstock 19" won their Local Authority elections, this Pug Dog, Dame Bickerstaffe, did successfullly stand for election as the town mayor 3 years later. Photograph provided by DaPuglet.

©2012 James Mathurin

Least succesful telemarketing campaign

The least succesful telemarketing campaign was run by the charity Bathrooms for Bitches, a charity supporting dogs abandoned due to incontinence. After 17 unsuccessful mail and telephone campaigns, in 2003 they brought on the 'Performing Arts-based fundraising team' of Miller and Barnes.

Speaking later in Marketing Bugle in July 2006, Matthew Miller of Miller and Barnes said,

"Our scheme involved the callers telephoning potential supporters, and howling down the phone at them, like an incontinent bitch. We spent weeks perfecting the pitch and timbre of incontinent bitches of various breeds, and the campaign raised 213 complaints, 19 criminal charges and 44 civil cases."

Staff at Miller & Barnes, pictured during the Bathrooms For Bitches campaign. Staff had to be trained specially to ensure that their howling did not exceed 100decibels. Jermaine Beckwithe, one of their callers, remembered, "Some days you would get home and all you could hear was the howling and whining." Picture provided by HowardLake.

©2010 James Mathurin