In a year that began with the US Capitol attack, continued with the fall of Afghanistan and is ending with the rapid spread of Omicron, the global news cycle has at times felt overwhelming.
But while 2021 has been another fraught year, not all the news has been negative. Here are a few of the funniest and weirdest stories and headlines published this year.
Animals
Sabrina Imbler wrote a perfectly headlined piece in the New York Times about moray eels:
good morning ONLY to NYT headline writers https://t.co/iafGEgrL2A pic.twitter.com/uvitKdfVnL
— Eli Yokley (@eyokley) June 22, 2021
At long last, justice for the naturally beautiful, filler-free camels:
Saudi Arabia banned 40 camels from a camel beauty contest for allegedly having touch-ups like Botox and fillers.
— AJ+ (@ajplus) December 9, 2021
Organizers say it is the biggest clampdown in the history of the contest, which awards $66 million in prize money for the best camel humps, outfits and postures. pic.twitter.com/nS6a1uw6Qp
Feral pigs also caused a stir, perhaps wistful for the dizzying attention of their viral moment in 2019. (They also happen to have a climate impact, we learned this year, equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of 1.1m cars.)
What a headline https://t.co/1L7n6rveGK
— Bonnie Malkin (@bonniemalkin) December 15, 2021
i too would also be standing in a stunned silence if i saw a wild boar steal a bag from international pop superstar shakira https://t.co/OXSAyg3TKI
— hi my name is simon (@Simonjenkin) November 2, 2021
The AV Club had fun with the news that authorities in Puerto Rico were investigating YouTuber Jake Paul for driving on beaches that were turtle nesting areas:
— Donna Lu (@donnadlu) December 16, 2021
The critically endangered California condor garnered attention when a group of the birds took up residence at the home of Cinda Mickol one weekend.
Rare condors pic.twitter.com/SF3TfIgoGG
— Donna Lu (@donnadlu) December 16, 2021
Also on the theme of indifferent beasts: people expressed class solidarity with capybaras who infiltrated a rich gated community in Argentina.
Meanwhile in Argentina, capybaras have infiltrated one of the richest gated communities - "who have destroyed manicured lawns, bitten dogs and caused traffic accidents" https://t.co/4B1pm8XqIj
— Corrie Chen 🌈 (@corriechen) August 23, 2021
Surreal stories from the pandemic
This is a real headline from @Guardian. pic.twitter.com/h4QPd22CQN
— Dr. David Samadi (@drdavidsamadi) May 1, 2021
Italian man tries to dodge Covid vaccine wearing fake arm https://t.co/zwRZMKVOCm
— The Guardian (@guardian) December 3, 2021
… not least from Nicki Minaj, who tweeted that her cousin’s friend in Trinidad had to cancel his wedding because he developed swollen testicles after the Covid vaccine – which the Trinidad and Tobago health ministry then had to waste time investigating and debunking.
Trinidad and Tobago health minister stated the country has not seen any reported cases of testicular swelling due to COVID-19 vaccinations. The announcement came on Wednesday after the ministry investigated a recent claim and found no evidence. https://t.co/hB42SvNsvG
— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) September 16, 2021
Generation wars
The age-old tradition of pouring scorn on younger people continued healthily in 2021:
Opinion: Gen Z is made of zombies — less educated, more depressed, without values https://t.co/UwZiECuRYQ pic.twitter.com/jRfqAN53oy
— New York Post (@nypost) August 21, 2021
Although at times it appeared to be warranted.
— Donna Lu (@donnadlu) December 16, 2021
Social media
In September, leaked documents suggested Instagram made body image issues worse for teenage girls. Instagram boss Adam Mosseri’s comments defending the social network backfired:
The Instagram head's comments were a bit of a car crash https://t.co/CNyWDQTAud
— Mashable (@mashable) September 16, 2021
The following month, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would be changing its name to Meta:
This Vice headline though.
— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) October 28, 2021
Zuckerberg Announces Fantasy World Where Facebook Is Not a Horrible Company https://t.co/wMy3Mplb4k
And finally
A Spanish bishop found love but lost his powers.
— Donna Lu (@donnadlu) December 16, 2021
