8 Strange Things that Happened in 2016
By Joseph F. Nacino
The year 2016 has been such a dumpster fire of a year, so much so that a lot of us are probably looking forward to the year 2017.
However, we have to give it to this year for coming up with stories that interested us and made us do a double take after reading their headlines.
Here are eight strange things that happened in 2016, stories whose headlines made us give them a second look:
1. Megastructure in space
First discovered in September 2015, a group of astronomers and scientists using the Kepler Space Telescope still can’t figure out the strange pattern in the light coming from the star named KIC 8462852 (called Tabby’s Star). The light seems to be blocked by an unusual mass of matter that some of the scientists theorized as being artificial (like a Dyson Sphere) and could be signs of an alien civilization.
2. Fake intelligence news
In October of this year, Senator Dick Gordon criticized the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) for submitting a confidential intelligence report about the Chinese building hidden missile silos in Zambales. Unfortunately, this report was based on fake news found online. *Sigh*
3. Crazy video images
Meanwhile, last November, the police in Gardner, Kansas set up a camera to catch sightings of a mountain lion at their park. Things got a lot weird when their camera caught glimpses of people in gorilla suits, a beer-drinking Santa Claus, a masked man, and a person wielding a bow-and-arrow and going around in a walker.
4. Clown sightings
In August, reports of clowns trying to lure kids into the woods quickly spread across the US and even to other countries. These reports led to mass clown hunts, clown-related terrorist threats, and even the White House and horror icon Stephen King speaking on the matter. Obviously, the professional clown community was not happy about this.
5. Skydiver without parachute
In August as well, a skydiver named Luke Aikins showed the world’s first skydiving jump from 25,000 feet without a parachute. Of course, there was a 100 feet x 100 feet two-tiered safety net to catch him at the bottom, but he was traveling at terminal velocity (120 mph) when he landed. (Yes, he survived.)
6. Libingan ng Bayani name-change
The sneaky burial of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. at the Libingnan ng Mga Bayani angered a lot of people last November. Some of them became very creative in expressing their anger and civil disobedience by changing the Libingan’s name on Google Maps to Libingan ng Mga Bayani at Isang Magnananakaw (and other variants).
7. Frozen fish skating rink
Last November, a Space World theme park in Kitakyushu, Japan had to close a new attraction when people expressed their disgust, calling it “tasteless” and “sinful.” The attraction? A skating rink that had dozens of fish frozen in the ice. The general manager of the park said they would replace the skating rink and hold a memorial service for the fish. (As they say, “Oh, Japan.”)
8. Strange ping sounds in the Arctic
Lastly, a mysterious sound has been heard emanating from the Arctic seafloor last November, a “pinging” sound that is driving the wildlife away. The Canadian government can’t find the source of the sound, while a mining company working in the area and the environmental group Greenpeace denied being behind it. (And who said there’s no mystery left discovering nowadays?)
What were the strangest things you have read about this year? Share them with us below!
