Celebrity look-a-like contests, an ‘immersive’ Willy Wonka experience that failed to deliver, and an expensive banana taped to a wall — 2024 has provided no shortage of weird and wacky stories that captured our collective attention.
1News looks at all the strange and offbeat stories that made headlines over the last 12 months.
Willy Wonka Experience letdown
When Glasgow parents visited the website for “Willy’s Chocolate Experience”, they were promised a “stunning and intricately designed” experience that would immerse their families in the world of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
And a £35 (NZ$77) suggested they may have been in for a treat. Instead, they got a scantily decorated warehouse, fed-up-looking Oompa Loompas, and actors working their hardest to keep children happy.
The warehouse was decorated with cheap-looking props and tapestries showing AI-generated images.
Promising an abundant number of lollies, staff were reportedly told to give kids only two jellybeans and a quarter cup of lemonade—but the jellybeans quickly ran out.
The failed experience created a firestorm on social media, with people making memes and sharing stories about the experience.
Look-alike contests around the globe
Staying with the Willy Wonka theme – 2024 was a big year for American-French actor Timothée Chalamet, who played the chocolate entrepreneur in last year’s Wonka.
While the film came out in late 2023, memes about it rose to prominence as 2024 went on.
It culminated in an October Timothée Chalamet look-a-like contest in New York City.
When the contest took place, fans were shocked when Chalamet crashed it. He did not win, however.
The contest prompted several copycats, with others searching for the doppelgangers of The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White, Gladiator II’s Paul Mescal, and Harry Styles.
Raygun kangaroo-hops her way to internet fame
Another big event that we all focused on in 2024 was the Paris Olympics, and with that, a flurry of memes about the games.
One of the storylines to emerge from the games was a breakdancing routine performed by Australian breaker Rachel Gunn, aka Raygun.
Gunn’s performance, filled with unique moves, including the sprinkler and kangaroo hop, quickly went viral.
Gunn was also highly criticised, as her routine failed to score a single point in the competition.
RFK Jr. and dead animals
During the 2024 US Presidential election cycle, several stories emerged about nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s interactions with dead animals.
At the start of August, Kennedy revealed he had dumped a dead bear he found on the side of the road in New York City’s Central Park.
The admission came a decade after the bear’s discovery made national news in the US, but police were never able to find out who did it.
Soon after, an interview with Kennedy’s daughter from 12 years ago resurfaced, where she said the candidate used a chainsaw to remove the head of a beached whale that died – tying it to the roof of his car and taking it home.
Following the election, President-elect Donald Trump named Kennedy his health secretary pick.
Banana taped to wall worth $10.5 million
The world was left shocked in November when a piece of conceptual art consisting of a banana taped to a wall sold for NZ$10.5 million in New York.
Comedian, by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, became a phenomenon after its debut in 2019, with art-goers wondering if it was a joke or commentary on the standards of art collectors.
It may have inspired some Wellingtonians to start taping bananas to the back of buses in the city.
“Up to five” were removed by Metlink, promoting them to ask people not to do it.
Kiwi wins Spanish Scrabble title – despite not speaking Spanish
When Kiwi Nigel Richards won the Spanish Scrabble world title, you’d be forgiven if you weren’t surprised – given he is a leading player.
But the thing is… he doesn’t speak Spanish and had only just started playing Scrabble in the language.
According to organisers, nothing like it had ever happened before, and it was “impossible to act negatively”.
The Spanish title wasn’t the only shock Richards had created – he’d done it before.
In 2015, Richards won the French title despite not speaking the language. He reportedly spent nine weeks studying the word list. He took the French title again in 2018.
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