2024 in a Nutshell
- Debbie Brown
- Dec 9, 2024
- 6 min read
2024 has been filled with important news stories ranging from hurricanes, floods, celebrity arrests and allegations, and elections. While important, these stories overpower those that bring light and levity to the world; the silly, the odd, and the feel-good stories we tend to miss when we are distracted by larger issues. Here, we highlight some of the more obscure, strange, and lighthearted stories of 2024 from around the world.
January
January 3
The falling-block video game Tetris has met its match in 13-year-old Willis Gibson.
January 31
A New Hampshire fire department says a woman fell into a dumpster while throwing out her garbage, and it didn't end there: She landed inside a trash truck that compacted the contents.
January 31
When the beloved children's character Elmo asked people how they were doing, the responses came from far beyond Sesame Street.
February
February 1
Australian police came to the aid of a 3-year-old boy after he became trapped inside a claw machine at a suburban shopping mall.
February 9
It took Richard Plaud years, not to mention more than 700,000 matchsticks, to build his replica of the Eiffel Tower. The structure stands 7.19 meters, or a little taller than 23.5 feet.
March
March 9
An Auburn University student connected on a long-distance shot, draining a length-of-the-basketball court putt to win a car.
March 15
Those walking through the milling streets of downtown Mexico City were greeted with a strange and sleepy sight.
March 25
Firefighters in southern New Jersey came to the rescue of a dog who got stuck in a spare tire.
April
April 7
A 4.8 magnitude earthquake shook New York City on Friday as the Yankees went through batting practice before their home opener.
April 18
Researchers in India have found fossils of an ancient giant snake that could have been longer than a school bus.
April 20
An artisan roastery based in the Finnish capital has introduced a coffee blend that has been developed by artificial intelligence in a trial in which it’s hoped that technology can ease the workload in a sector that traditionally prides itself on manual work.
May
May 9
Police in Michigan say a startling discovery was made on the roof of a Michigan grocery store: A woman was living inside the store sign for roughly a year.
May 13
Punxsutawney Phil’s offspring have names that just might help the famed weather-forecasting groundhog to predict when spring will begin.
May 18
When are 706 people named Kyle in the same place not enough?
June
June 12
Transplant organizations say a 98-year-old man may be the oldest American to ever donate an organ.
June 17
Dozens of bottles of centuries-old, impeccably preserved cherries and berries from the cellar of George Washington's Mount Vernon estate in northern Virginia have been discovered during an archaeological dig.
June 28
A University of Nebraska regent has proposed a way for football-crazy Cornhusker fans to carry their fandom into the afterlife.
July
July 1
Subway riders in Boston are playing their own game of “Where’s Waldo?”
July 23
An Oscar Mayer Wienermobile got into a pickle on a Chicago highway.
August
August 8
The search is on for a small alligator in Erie, Pennsylvania, after it was caught on video last weekend swimming just off the shore of Lake Erie.
August 15
The critter was found a good hour's drive from the state's far more famous groundhog town.
August 26
Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen became the first player in Major League Baseball history to appear in the same game for both teams when he took the field for Boston in the resumption of a rain-delayed game he started for Toronto back in June.
August 29
The city of Porto in northern Portugal takes pride in its beaches, old churches and famous port wine.
September
September 13
Drifter, a 3-year-old tabby went missing from his home in Duluth on July 18, and was found after neighbor kids heard meowing coming from a storm drain.
September 20
A gray cat living an extraordinary life of visits to the beach and trips to the lake went on his biggest adventure alone: traveling hundreds of miles from Wyoming to California.
September 21
Seal Pup Once Rescued on a British Beach Hits the Big 5-0. Sheba May Be the Oldest Seal in Captivity
As gray seals go, Sheba is grayer than most.
October
October 3
The question of whether a 2-year-old beaver named Nibi can stay with the rescuers she has known since she was a baby or must be released into the wild as winter approaches was resolved when the Massachusetts governor stepped in to protect Nibi.
October 15
Travis Gienger's 2,471-pound pumpkin won him the World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay for the second year in a row.
October 20
David Jakins, 82, known as "King Conker", said he kept a steel chestnut in his pocket for "humour value".
October 28
An extraordinarily rare dime whose whereabouts had remained a mystery since the late 1970s has sold for just over $500,000.
November
November 22
Peter Frank has paddled far in his Sawyer Loon decked canoe — from Escanaba, Michigan to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.
November 23
Police thought a shoe thief was on the loose at a kindergarten in southwestern Japan, until a security camera caught the furry culprit in action.
November 28
In the remotest reaches of Alaska, there’s no relying on DoorDash to have Thanksgiving dinner delivered.
December
December 2
Oxford University Press has named “brain rot” its word of the year.
December 3
A British chef is urging thieves who stole a van with 2,500 savory pies inside to “do the right thing” and donate the edible loot to the needy.
December 9
A Ukrainian man who embarked on a perilous journey fleeing his war-torn country into Romania has been rescued from a deep mountain ravine in subzero temperatures with an unlikely companion: his months-old kitten named Peach
The staff at Henry Buhl Library wishes you well on your finals and a safe and relaxing Christmas season. The Bookend will return in January with new articles, library features, and displays. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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