The story of the Westminster village - the small enclave around the Abbey and the Houses of Parliament - is full of unexpected twists.

BBC: The hidden history of Westminster

Rather than focus on health care or Iraq, as previous debates have, the moderators threw an odd bag of unexpected identity-politics questions at the candidates for a full hour, before turning to high-minded policy.

ECONOMIST: The Democrats: Obama and Clinton battle on | The

But that number - large as it is - underplays the full economic impact of Sandy's wrath, ignoring both the human and government costs and the unexpected economic boom that major storms can bring.

BBC: Hurricane Sandy: The hidden costs

While the plot may be full of dark twists and turns, there are also unexpected moments of humor.

CNN: 'Copper': Bringing 1864 New York to life, grit and all