What a humdinger of year!

We at The New Daily strive to keep our readers informed of the latest breaking news from home and abroad. We hope that over the past year, we’ve done so with aplomb and gusto.

Amidst all the hard-hitting stories that have flooded the ever-churning news cycle, plenty of peculiar yarns piqued our interest, and some left us scratching our heads in befuddlement.

So before we dash headlong into 2023, let’s take a moment to reflect on some of the odder stories of the past year.

It’s not an exhaustive list, but here, in no particular order, are some of TND’s weirdest stories of 2022.

Weather bureau sparks storm with bizarre name change plan

The Bureau of Meteorology caused quite the fracas when it issued a stern warning to Australians to stop using its common nicknames.

The timing of the rebrand was a bit skew-whiff as three states on the eastern seaboard were struggling with deadly flooding disasters which wiped out homes and businesses.

BOM was no more (briefly) after an ill-advised rebrand.

‘Emmanuel, don’t do it’: The emu taking over the internet

A feathered Australian native captured the hearts of millions after backing up his viral, scene-stealing social media presence with an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Liz Truss v lettuce: Tabloid’s cruel test of longevity

Remember Liz Truss? Cast your mind back a whole three months to when anarchy was afoot in the UK.

After The Economist wrote that Ms Truss’s time as PM had “roughly the shelf-life of a lettuce” the team at the Daily Star tabloid decided to put that theory to the test by live-streaming a $1 head of lettuce to see if it could outlive her premiership.

After only 45 days as Prime Minister, Liz Truss threw in the towel.

Moose rescued from Alaska basement

Firefighters in the US state of Alaska dealt with an unusual request for assistance from wildlife officers after a moose became stuck in a basement.

The creature had a misstep while grazing and tumbled through a window.

Celtic football fans chant over minute’s applause for late Queen

Scottish football club Celtic FC faced a backlash after rowdy fans disrupted a minute’s applause in memory of the Queen with an anti-royal chant.

Harry Styles appears to spit on co-star

Such drama.

A viral clip shared on social media showed Harry Styles walking to a seat next to Chris Pine for the movie’s screening at the Venice Film Festival – when he seemingly spat on his fellow actor as he sat down.

Debate raged on social media, despite the incident being captured from multiple angles.

Styles and Pine (seated) at the premiere in Venice. Source: Twitter

US man ‘caused wildfire by burning spider’

A Utah man was arrested and charged, amid accusations he sparked a massive wildfire while trying to burn a spider with his lighter.

Deputies found a jar of marijuana in the man’s belongings but said he didn’t appear to be high.

Why Wally the ’emotional support alligator’ is taking the internet by storm

We’ve heard of emotional support dogs and cats, even emotional support rabbits. But what about emotional support alligators?

‘Most expensive Maccas meal ever’: Traveller’s hip-pocket hit

A traveller from Indonesia was fined thousands of dollars after a biosecurity detector dog caught them trying to sneak undeclared McDonald’s into Australia.

Unfortunate Auslan interpreter cops hefty hit of bird poo

You could say this unlucky interpreter fell fowl of live television.