Pussycat Dolls, tramp stamps and Miami Ink

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Rewind to 17 to 23 July 2005, where tattoo regrets were permanent, burlesque entered the mainstream and Crazy Frog somehow got a record deal.

💣 Bombs fail, panic doesn’t. Two weeks after 7/7, four bombs fail to fully detonate on London transport. No deaths, but the fear is real. Cue evacuations, manhunts and media chaos.

🚨 Shot by mistake. Jean Charles de Menezes is tragically killed by police, mistaken for a bombing suspect. Operation Kratos, racial profiling and public trust all under the microscope.

💉 Bird flu fears spread. Vietnam reports two new bird flu deaths, reigniting global panic. The WHO goes full pandemic-prep mode while the rest of us panic-buy Tamiflu.

🚴‍♂️ Armstrong’s 7th Tour. Lance Armstrong wins his final Tour de France (lol). He’s a clean-cut legend, Livestrong wristbands are everywhere — but the doping whispers haven’t stopped.

🖥️ Windows Vista gets a name. Microsoft ditches the Longhorn codename and introduces… Vista. Big promises, bigger flops. It wouldn’t launch for 18 more months and boy would it disappoint.

🎤 Don’t cha wish your debut was this iconic. The Pussycat Dolls drop “Don’t Cha” and instantly own 2005. Nicole does 95% of the vocals, the rest bring the vibes. Burlesque-core is in.

💉 Tattoos go mainstream. Miami Ink debuts, and suddenly everyone wants Kanji symbols, tribal armbands and tramp stamps. Your cousin’s regrettable butterfly tattoo? Blame this week.

🐸 Frog chaos continues. Crazy Frog releases a full album. It’s unhinged, unholy and somehow wildly successful. If your ringtone made you want to throw your Nokia, this is why.

📖 Ranger + spreadsheets = thirst. Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich has Stephanie Plum quitting bounty hunting. Sort of. Ranger’s still hot, Morelli’s still broody and Goodreads is still unhinged.

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