 "Rise of Moo Deng, ‘Melodi’ strikes back and more… The stories that made us cheer and chuckle in 2024")
War. Conflict. Tensions. Deaths. Destruction. If one was asked to sum up 2024, perhaps these would be the words that would come to mind.
However, amid this apocalyptic view of the world, amid the doom and gloom, the world had a few ups; a few moments that gave us a reason to smile, a cause to believe in humanity again, or as Gen Z would say, made us go aww.
So, sit back and we hope our list leaves you on a high.
India scores big in T20 World Cup
In November 2023, over a billion hearts broke when Team India lost the ICC Cricket World Cup to Australia. However, seven months later — in June — heartbreak gave way to joy and happiness when the Men in Blue scored a seven-run victory over South Africa to lift the T20 World Cup.
India’s cricket-crazy fans marked the win with midnight celebrations across the country; blue India cricket jerseys on cars and bikes took to the streets across cities. Fans shed tears of joy and danced, flung their little ones in the air and took out car parades.
In the immediate moments following the triumph, Virat Kohli , who produced a match-winning knock of 76, said, “This was my last T20 game playing for India. Time for the next generation to take the T20 game forward.”
And little later, India captain Rohit Sharma also announced his retirement from the T20 Internationals. “This was my last [T20I] game as well,” said the 37-year-old.
“No better time to say goodbye to this format. I’ve loved every moment of this. I started my India career playing this format. This is what I wanted, I wanted to win the cup.
“I was very desperate for this title in my life. Happy that we eventually crossed the line.”
And we agree. We couldn’t have thought of a more fairy-tale ending for them.
‘Melodi Jodi’ is just too sweet!
If you are thinking of the Melody chocolate, you are quite wrong. We aren’t talking about that tiny sweet but of the Modi-Meloni friendship that has grown from strength to strength.
In June, the Italian PM Giorgia Meloni broke the internet when she posted a five-second video of her and Prime Minister Narendra Modi smiling and waving at the camera on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy’s Apulia. She posted the video with the caption, “Hi friends, from #Melodi”.
Hi friends, from #Melodi pic.twitter.com/OslCnWlB86
— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) June 15, 2024
Unsurprisingly, the post spawned multiple memes and even comments, with one calling Modi’s Italian counterpart “Bhabhi (sister-in-law)”.
If only all world diplomatic events were this fun.
Notre Dame rises from the ashes
In 2019, the world watched in horror as a fire engulfed the iconic 861-year-old Notre Dame cathedral. The roof collapsed and the stone floor was left covered in debris. But France vowed that they would rebuild, and restore the structure.
And five years later and €846 million euros in donations, that vow came complete with the reopening of the cathedral.
A grand event was organised on December 7 to mark the successful restoration of one of France’s most iconic landmarks. World leaders such as US President-elect Donald Trump, US First Lady Jill Biden, Britain’s Prince William, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Tesla CEO Elon Musk were all in attendance.
Notre Dame’s rector Reverend Olivier Ribadeau Dumas said later, “No one alive has seen the cathedral like this. It is more than restored — it is reborn.”
The year of star babies
Baby bells chimed in 2024 in Bollywood. Several Bollywood couples welcomed their little bundle of joy this year. Think Deepika and Ranveer, who welcomed their baby girl — Dua . This year also marked the birth of Akaay — the little boy of Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma.
Varun Dhawan and his wife, Natasha, too welcomed their daughter on June 3.
Ali Fazal and Richa Chadha also announced they were expecting their first child — a baby girl on July 16.
Vikrant Massey, who has had a stellar year professionally, also saw personal success when he and his wife, Sheetal Thakur, became proud parents of a baby boy on February 7 and named him Vardaan.
Meet Dogpool: From Britain’s ugliest to Hollywood star
Peggy, a five-year-old pugese – a cross between a pug and a Chinese-crested — had a tough life until 2024. The six-year-old canine made the news when she was awarded ‘Britain’s Ugliest Dog’ in 2023. However, she became ‘pawsome’ when she appeared alongside Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in the latest Marvel superhero film, Deadpool & Wolverine.
Cast as “Dogpool”, the pugese went viral on the internet and attained somewhat of a celebrity status with a following of 241,000 on Instagram.
Princess Kate’s cancer recovery
The year 2024 didn’t start on a good note for the British monarchy. In February, King Charles announced he was undergoing treatment for cancer. This was followed up by Princess of Wales, Kate, announcing that was receiving “ preventative chemotherapy “ after doctors found cancer cells while she was having an abdominal surgery procedure.
But it seems that the 42-year-old royal fought hard and in September announced that she was cancer free. “Doing what I can to stay cancer-free is now my focus. Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes,” she said. “I am, however, looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.”
Days after she made the announcement, she made her first public appearance — attending a church service with King Charles III and Queen Camilla near their Balmoral estate in Scotland.
Rise of Moo Deng
If you have been on social media in 2024, you would know Moo Deng . Her cute, rosy cheeks and bright eyes made her an internet sensation and a global phenomenon. For those who don’t know, Moo Deng is a two-month-old pygmy hippo, who resides at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand.
Her rise to success came after her zookeeper began posting TikToks about her — playing in the water, biting her zookeeper and bouncing around her pen. Moo Deng guaranteed a dose of cuteness all the time.
And it’s this cute factor that elevated Moo Deng from just a viral sensation to much, much more.
Now, the pygmy hippo has her own merchandise and even a song in four languages. There’s also a ‘Moo Deng’ makeup trend that’s gone viral on social media, with beauty influencers creating looks inspired by the pygmy hippo.
While we haven’t tried the Moo Deng makeup trend, we are all in love with that slimy baby hippo.
American who helps save lives and drug addicts
Not many know of Stephen Knight, but his work has earned him the honour of CNN’s hero of the year. Knight is the brains behind Dogs Matter, a non-profit that provides foster care for the pets of people who need to go to rehab.
This idea came to him, he says, from his own experience. In 2011, at the age of 51, Knight had lost it all to meth addiction. Eight months into his recovery, he recounts how a friend of his appeared at his door in tears. She had relapsed, and in her arms was her pet – a Maltese/Dachshund mix named Jayde.
Knight’s friend said no one would take her canine friend, and she asked Knight for a ride to a shelter so she could surrender her. “I looked at Jayde, and we looked at each other,” Knight told CNN. “It was one of the most spiritual moments, like ‘I think we might need each other here.’”
The rest, as they say, is history. Since then, he opened his non-profit and has helped more than 1,200 dogs and their owners.
But he’s not done yet. With 14 years of sobriety in his pocket, he hopes to make Dogs Matter a national programme, providing other animals and their humans the same second chance at life that he got.
World went bananas for art!
The art world is not for everyone. This year, an artwork featuring a banana taped to the wall was sold for a whopping $6.2 million at an auction. But that’s not the weirdest part. Days after purchasing the multi-million dollar artwork, the buyer, a Chinese cryptocurrency businessman Justin Sun, ate the banana.
He wrote on X while posting a video of him eating the banana, “Many friends have asked me about the taste of the banana.
“To be honest, for a banana with such a back story, the taste is naturally different from an ordinary one. I could discern a hint of what Big Mike bananas from 100 years ago might have tasted like,” said Sun.
Talk about weird and funny.
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