Failed cleanup of Gulf of Mexico
Due to an accident at BP, a lot of oil unintentionally ended up in the sea near the Gulf of Mexico. In order to ensure that this would disappear more quickly, chemicals were thrown into the water that were supposed to make the oil droplets smaller and speed up the decomposition process. Unfortunately, the chemicals had the opposite effect: the chemicals caused microorganisms to flourish and drive out the microorganisms that were breaking down the oil.
No (Golden) Grand Slam for Novak Djokovic
It was going to be the year of the Golden Grand Slam for tennis player Novak Djokovic, the No. 1 in the world rankings. For a Golden Grand Slam, he must win all four grandslam tournaments that year and the Olympics. He won the first three grand slams, but during the Olympics he missed the boat, so a Golden Grand Slam was out of the question. A Calender Slam is still possible. Then he lost the US Open final and his dream went up in smoke.
Experiment with music-making road stopped after one day
If a motorist drove the permitted speed on the N357 in Friesland, the Frisian National Anthem would be played at the correct speed. Unfortunately, the experiment was stopped after one day. Motorists drove extra fast to see how fast the music could be played. In addition, local residents heard all sorts of noises mixed up; the road not only caused dangerous situations, but also inconvenience.