Alex Selby-Boothroyd
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alexselbyb.bsky.social
Alex Selby-Boothroyd
@alexselbyb.bsky.social
14K followers 1.4K following 2.1K posts
Head of data journalism at The Economist
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alexselbyb.bsky.social
Hoping these will last another three years
A 1 and a 6 balloon
November 10, 2025 at 10:27 PM
alexselbyb.bsky.social
Yep. I insist on playing it in a minor key at funerals.
November 10, 2025 at 3:28 PM
alexselbyb.bsky.social
The piece mentions the three attempts on Adolphe Sax's life by rival instrument makers, but not the frankly absurd number of times he almost died as a child
Sax faced many brushes with death. As a child, he once fell from a height of three floors, hit his head on a stone and was believed dead. At the age of three, he drank a bowl full of acidic water, mistaking it for milk, and later swallowed a pin. He received serious burns from a gunpowder explosion and once fell onto a hot cast-iron frying pan, burning his side. Several times he avoided accidental poisoning and asphyxiation from sleeping in a room where varnished furniture was drying. Another time young Sax was struck on the head by a cobblestone and fell into a river, almost dying.
November 10, 2025 at 2:22 PM
alexselbyb.bsky.social
I worked it out
November 9, 2025 at 5:45 PM
alexselbyb.bsky.social
Yep, might get a lucky deflection
November 9, 2025 at 5:44 PM
alexselbyb.bsky.social
"work" is a stretch, but I'll take it!
November 8, 2025 at 9:43 PM
alexselbyb.bsky.social
I was supporting Sunderland tonight!
November 8, 2025 at 9:03 PM
alexselbyb.bsky.social
True, it feels like you get more data for your buck
November 8, 2025 at 8:00 PM
alexselbyb.bsky.social
You are totally right 🤦‍♂️
November 8, 2025 at 7:50 PM