Love mind, doped pigeon pie, and timed hugs: The wackiest tales of 2024 | India Information

Talking of checking one’s feelings, among the many extra talked-about tales was New Zealand’s Dunedin Airport imposing a three-minute time restrict on goodbye hugs, igniting each outrage and hilarity. A cheeky signal on the drop-off zone declared: “Max hug time 3 minutes. For fonder farewells, please use the automotive park.” The rule, launched to ease congestion, had folks debating whether or not hugging may — or ought to — be timed. Dunedin Airport CEO Daniel De Bono weighed in: “Airports are hotbeds of emotion… We’re attempting to have enjoyable with it.” However not everybody was amused. One person fumed, “You’ll be able to’t put a time restrict on hugs! That’s inhumane.” Others leaned into the humour: “In America, you’re fortunate in the event that they allow you to decelerate. Simply roll and push the passenger out!”

Thailand’s viral hippo Moo Deng. (X/@moodengx)

This yr additionally noticed the rise of discussions round ‘popcorn mind’, a time period describing the relentless urge to multitask and the lack to focus resulting from fixed digital stimulation. Coined by Dr David M Levy, it paints a vivid image of how our fashionable tech habits, pushed by pings and notifications, have rewired our cognitive processes. From compulsively checking social media to needing to reply to emails, popcorn mind highlights the challenges of staying current in an period of infinite distractions.

Researchers warn of the long-term results of this psychological fragmentation. Whereas our ancestors’ brains had been wired for survival—shortly responding to threats of their atmosphere—in the present day’s “threats” come within the type of unread messages and trending subjects.

Including to the lexicon of the yr was Oxford College Press’s Phrase of the 12 months, ‘mind rot’, which displays a cultural reckoning with the consequences of overconsuming trivial on-line content material. The phrase encapsulates the deteriorating affect of binge-scrolling social media or streaming platforms.

Revolutions within the office

The office continued to be fertile floor for odd developments and quiet revolutions. ‘Quiet vacationing’ emerged as an underground motion amongst workers who take break day with out formally notifying their employers. One other pattern that made it to this yr’s listing is ‘workplace peacocking’ — firms attempting to lure workers again to the workplace by renovating workplace areas and providing lavish perks like connoisseur meals, recreation rooms, and wellness areas.

Gen Z’s contemporary lexicon

In 2024, Gen Z’s distinctive slang turned an simple drive, reshaping the way in which we talk.

‘Brat’, launched by Charli XCX, emerged as a time period of empowerment, capturing a carefree, rebellious perspective that outlined Gen Z’s unapologetic way of living and self-expression.

“So demure, so aware!” turned a viral phrase after TikToker Jools Lebron, who identifies as a trans lady, posted a sarcastic tackle “how ladies ought to current themselves within the office.” In recognition of its cultural affect, Dictionary.com formally declared “demure” as its 2024 Phrase of the 12 months. Whereas many Gen-Z customers embraced the time period mockingly, others criticised it for imposing unrealistic requirements on ladies.

When packages go awry

Life’s little surprises aren’t at all times welcome, as R Tulasi of Andhra Pradesh found this yr. Her story started innocuously sufficient, with a easy request for building supplies to help in constructing her dream residence. What arrived at her doorstep, nevertheless, was the stuff of nightmares: a wood crate containing a disfigured corpse nestled alongside electrical provides. Authorities scrambled to untangle the grisly mix-up, however for Tulasi, the occasion served as a stark reminder of how the mundane can flip macabre.

Elsewhere, within the warmth of Maharashtra’s Meeting elections, an unbiased candidate, Gurudas Kambale, introduced a flavour of absurdity to the political stage. Kambale’s election image — a humble slipper — spurred an sudden controversy when he demanded that voters be banned from carrying slippers into polling cubicles. The request was denied, however the kerfuffle introduced forth the whimsical lengths people will go to guard their stake in a democratic course of.

Nature’s odd shows

Not simply people however nature additionally had its share of wonders to contribute. In a uncommon celestial efficiency, gigantic jets of lightning illuminated the Himalayan skies, between China and Bhutan, capturing upwards from thunderstorms to the ionosphere.

Gigantic jets pack 50 occasions the facility of a daily lightning strike and may journey as excessive as 80 kilometres above the Earth’s floor. (X/@apod)

Nearer to the bottom, a freak snowfall blanketed Saudi Arabia’s Al-Jawf area, remodeling the arid desert right into a winter wonderland. The bizarre climate occasion captivated social media and reignited debates about local weather change’s function in driving excessive and sudden patterns.

In the meantime, in Pune, a unique type of swarm commanded consideration. Movies of insect tornadoes — towering clouds of chironomids spiraling like miniature cyclones — unfold quickly on-line. Specialists had been fast to make clear that the phenomenon stemmed from untreated sewage, turning what appeared like a whimsical spectacle right into a sobering commentary on city infrastructure and environmental neglect.

In the meantime, in a Thailand zoo, Moo Deng, a feminine pygmy hippo, turned an web sensation after pictures of her went viral on-line. On Christmas, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, donated 10,000,000 baht (about $293,000) to the Khao Kheow Open Zoo, turning into Moo Deng’s “adoptive father” by means of the zoo’s Wildlife Sponsorship Programme.

Sports activities: The unusual and scandalous

On the earth of sports activities, excuses for doping violations reached new heights of absurdity. Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner discovered himself in sizzling water after testing optimistic for a banned substance, solely in charge a masseur’s cream for the contamination. To not be outdone, Dutch bicycle owner Adri van der Poel supplied an much more outlandish protection, citing a “doped pigeon pie” cooked by his father-in-law, a pigeon-racing fanatic. These explanations, although questionable, bolstered an adage: fact is commonly stranger than fiction.

The Kangaroo dance kerfuffle

Australia’s Rachael Gunn, often known as B-Lady Raygun,competes through the Spherical Robin Battle on the breaking competitors at La Concorde City Park on the 2024 Summer time Olympics, in Paris, France. (AP File Picture)

In one of many yr’s quirkiest showdowns, Australian comic Steph Broadbridge’s Raygun the Musical was abruptly canceled after Olympic breaker Rachael Gunn — higher often known as B-Lady Raygun — despatched a cease-and-desist discover. The play, which was set to debut in Sydney, featured a unusual solid of eight actors, puppets, and authentic songs like You Could Be a B-Lady, However You’ll All the time Be an A-Lady to Me.

The issue? Gunn’s authorized group claimed the musical infringed on her mental property, particularly her viral “kangaroo-hop” dance, which gained web fame through the Paris Olympics. Although her unconventional strikes earned no factors from judges, they captured hearts worldwide — and a trademark.