For so many of us, the year 2020 is likely going down in history as one of the strangest ones in our memory. It's hard to think back on everything that happened. It's not that we're not able to, it's just that so much happened this year that it's a challenge to wrap our minds around it all. This year has, in many ways, felt like it should have been spanned out over five years.
The year 2020 has tested our patience, our faith in people, and given us wonderful gifts at the same time. We've learned many lessons over the year and there have been many reminders of what's really important in life. It felt very much like just when we thought the year couldn’t have gotten wilder, it did, and we were surprised every time.
We've gone back through the year and picked out the 20 wildest stories that happened in 2020. Yes, all of these happened within the year and it's not all good and not all bad, but it's an interesting mix.
Click through and reminisce about the shocking stories that dominated headlines and certainly helped shape the year 2020 as one of the craziest in recent memory.
Harry & Meghan Quit Being Royals
The British Royal family has always been headline-worthy, no matter what they do people are interested. But when Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, announced that they were stepping down and leaving their jobs as senior working members of the family, it was a massive story. And everything they did from there on has also been big news, too.
Kobe Bryant & His Daughter Died in a Helicopter Crash
It's hard to process when a celebrity dies, and the sudden death of basketball star Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash, rocked the world. His wife, Vanessa and his three other kids were left grieving two important people in their life — along with so many others.
A Massive Toilet Paper Shortage
When we do our weekly grocery shopping, we've never had to worry if the store was going to be stocked with the things we need. One of those always-there staples has historically been toilet paper. This year, it was impossible to find during some of the earlier months of the pandemic. People were panicking about being out of toilet paper while others hoarded what they could find.
Everyone Was Obsessed With 'Tiger King'
Netflix dropped this gem of a documentary on its streaming platform as just the right time when everyone was stuck in lockdown with not much else to do. We were introduced to the Tiger King and the fascinating world of big cats. Everyone became obsessed and it's all we talked about for a long time. Now, it seems like that was years ago.
COVID-19 Showed Scary Signs in Kids
When the global health crisis first started, people weren't too worried because kids weren't getting as sick. But experts started to notice a pattern in kids who were getting sick after the fact. The first sign was changes to their toes, aka "COVID toes," and it had experts concerned about the long-term impact of COVID-19 on kids.
Murder Hornets, Too
It felt as if right when everyone felt kicked down by the pandemic, elections, and all the worries that came with both, adding in a touch of murder hornets seemed like it was almost too much. Thankfully, at least so far, the murder hornets haven't turned out to be a huge concern in the US, but our world will never be the same now that we know they exist.
Women Gave Birth in the Wildest Circumstances
Earlier this year, Australia had a massive wildfire that overtook so much of its land. Millions of people lost their homes, billions of animals were killed, and pregnant women had to give birth in hospital rooms filled with smoke. In other parts of the world, due to the pandemic, many women were forced to give birth alone, without their partners, and/or wearing masks before, during and after labor.
Lab Tech Falsified Drug Tests That Led to Kids Being Removed From Parents
A woman from Alabama was sentenced to prison after authorities traced a scam back to her lab collection company. Brandy Murrah confessed to falsifying drug test results on several cases over the past few years — which caused many parents to lose custody of their kids. As if 2020 wasn't horrifying enough.
Elon Musk Had a Baby and Gave Him the Most Bizarre Name Ever
We're used to celebrities having interesting ideas for what a good baby name would be, but there was no bigger collective "huh?" issued than after Elon Musk and his girlfriend Grimes announced the birth of their baby boy. His name, X Æ A-12 — which literally has letters that don't exist in the English alphabet — had everyone scratching their heads.
An Interesting Show-and-Tell Choice Went Viral
School has always had a number of benefits for both kids and parents. It's where they get their education, the kids have a social life, and parents are then easier able to juggle work. This year, one of the biggest stories to hit the headlines has been the introduction of remote learning and the funniest things that came out of that. Like this little girl who went viral for her interesting show-and-tell choice: her parents' massive bottle of rum as "something that smells good." Bet we wouldn't have seen that in the actual classroom.
Everyone Became Obsessed With Brooms
Did we mention people were bored while at home? It became clear when people started to get obsessed with brooms, and the broom challenge was born. It was all over the internet and it's still something that's debated today, which is funny.
Massive Fires From Gender Reveals
The idea of gender reveals has always been a strange one, but this year, the contempt for them leveled up when the elaborate reveals continued to spark wildfires. There was a massive bush fire that sparked from a gender reveal and a few months later, the devastating California wildfires that destroyed over 10,000 acres and forced thousands of people to evacuate was attributed to a gender reveal stunt, too.
This Adoption Story That Got Everyone Fired Up
Some stories capture the attention of everyone, but this one was a little different. Out of nowhere, everyone was talking about the family who had chosen to place their adopted child up for adoption with another family. Everyone was giving opinions on their choice, it was discussed and debated everywhere, and suddenly the mom became one of the most infamous women in the country overnight.
Naya Rivera Was Found Dead After a Five-Day Search
Naya Rivera, who was most known for her role on Glee, was reported missing after her 4-year-old son was found on a boat by himself during a boating trip the two took to Lake Piru in Southern California. She was reported missing on July 8 and her body was found on July 13. Fans of Naya and her Glee family all mourned her death and collectively, people struggled to make sense of it all during an already difficult year.
'Baby Shark' Ruled as 'Inhumane'
Moms have been saying for years that the super famous "Baby Shark" song that our kids were obsessed with was one of the most annoying. So when a court ruled that a jail playing the "Baby Shark" song on loop to the inmates was considered "inhumane," moms of the world everywhere felt some vindication.
The 'Trolls' Doll That Went Viral
There were two kids' toys that made for some wild stories in 2020. One of them was a Hasbro Trolls doll that sparked a massive online petition because of the placement of a noise-making button on the doll. This story was then tied to rampant child trafficking conspiracy theories and hoaxes that took over social media for a few months, when some parents claimed the button was deliberately placed in a certain area to "groom" children for unwanted advances. Hasbro has since discontinued the doll.
Mom Calls Out LOL Dolls' 'Sexual Surprise' After Trying Out Ice Water Trick
Another one that had everyone up in arms was the viral discovery that when an LOL Surprise Doll is dunked into water, stockings and underwear appear. This story went viral on social media with people tying it to more child trafficking conspiracy theories.
10-Year-Old Refuses to Pick Up Dirty Sock, Mom Turns It Into a Hilarious Art Exhibit
Some of the wildest stories made us giggle, like this one that came from a stand-off between mom and her young daughter who refused to pick up her socks. Boredom can often spark the best kind of creativity, and this art exhibit moment is proof of that.
Kamala Harris Named Vice President-Elect
The year was a stressful one for so many reasons, and a presidential election often adds to that. This year, we had our first Black and South Asian woman on the ticket with Kamala Harris who was confirmed as Joe Biden's running mate. The two were confirmed as the winners after a long few days counting up all the ballots, making Harris the first female, Black and South Asian vice president in history.
Holidays Were Canceled
So many of us consider our holiday traditions a big part of our lives. This year, many of us were trying to wrestle with the idea that the holidays weren't going to be the same. Halloween was canceled, Thanksgiving was canceled (and where it wasn't, it led to a massive surge in coronavirus cases), and for many, Zoom Hanukkah or Christmas was the norm.
