The 10 weirdest things you didn’t hear about in 2020
- First, lots of celebrities had babies. Like a lot of celebrities. Congrats to Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, Nicki Minaj, Chris Pratt and Katherine Swartenegger, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner, Kristin Wiig, Iggy Azalea and Cameron Diaz for getting busy during 2020.
- Bob Dylan, the pop icon from the ‘60s and artist behind songs like “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Blowin’ in the Wind” released his first original song in 12 years titled ‘Murder Most Foul.” It’s about the JFK assassination and it’s 17 minutes long. The Guardian describes it as “rich with pop cultural detail and apocalyptic dread.”
- Planters, the peanut brand, announced that their spokesnut Mr. Peanut had passed away from a car crash. The company killed off the animated nut at the age of 104. Vulture reports that the deceased nut has been reincarnated as Baby Nut, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Feb. 2. Time moves quickly in the Planters’ world apparently.
- A Bolivian orchestra was trapped in a German castle for 73 days after Covid-19 restrictions tightened during their stay. BBC reports that the group’s concerts were cancelled and they were forced to stay at the Rheinsberg Palace, the 600-year-old royal palace and its surrounding wolf-infested grounds. The orchestra spent most of their time in the castle practicing and hanging out with the ghost of Frederick the Great, one of the castle’s former residents.
- Former Republican Alaska Governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin performed on Fox’s The Masked Singer. Dressed as a pink and purple bear, Palin sang Sir Mix-a-Lot’s Baby got Back. The GOP, ladies and gentlemen.
- Gritty, the slightly terrifying mascot for the Philadelphia flyers, allegedly punched a 13-year-old during a photoshoot at Wells Fargo Center. Chris Greenwell claimed the muppet mascot punched his son after the boy tapped his helmet. CNN reported that the Philadelphia Police Dept. found “no merit to the alleged claim.” Whether the allegations are true or not, Gritty will forever haunt my dreams.
- BBC reported that scientists discovered a 1,604 foot tall coral reef off the coast of North Queensland, Australia. The reef is taller than the Empire State Building and is the first to be discovered in more than 120 years, according to CNN. They found the detached reef while 3D mapping the ocean floor.
- Scientists have found evidence linking human inhabitants to Mexico 15,000 years earlier than previously believed. In the Chiquihuite Cave, in northern Mexico, archaeologists found nearly 2,000 tools that can be dated back 30,000 years ago, Sciencedaily reports. Scientists believe humans did not stay in the cave for long, since no human DNA was found with the tools.
- The Polish military accidentally invaded the Czech Republic. BBC News reported that in May of 2020, Polish troops briefly occupied a Czech chapel in north-eastern Moravia, close to the Poland-Cezch border. The guards, armed with machine guns, stopped a local construction engineer from entering the building, until Czech soldiers arrived and forced the Polish forces to retreat. The Polish Minister of Defense said later that the soldiers unknowingly set up their post in the wrong spot and that it was just a “misunderstanding.”
- The Pentagon released three videos with what they described as “unidentified aerial phenomena.” The New York Times reports that the Department of Defense has not confirmed what the videos are of. Pentagon spokeswoman Susan Gough told the NYT “The Navy has confirmed that the three videos… are indeed recordings made by naval aviators… The Navy has always considered the phenomena observed in those videos as unidentified.” Aliens? Maybe. Wouldn’t be the craziest thing that happened in 2020.
Some honorable mentions:
Ivanka Trump’s childhood friend bravely came forward in Vanity Fair to reveal she blamed a fart on someone else, when they were in high school. Carol Baskin, from Netflix’s Tiger King, was on Dancing with the Stars. She was eliminated the third week and placed 14th. And lastly, Taco Bell canceled potatoes, the Quesarito, Loaded Grillers and the 7-layer burrito – Yet another tragedy of 2020.
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Ellie Cowen is a 2022 graduate. She enjoys watching The Office, playing with her dogs, and baking. You can connect with her on Instagram @elliecowenn...