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As the end of the year approaches, people tend to start reflecting on what’s happened in the past twelve months. Every year is different than the one before it.

Some things were good. Some things were bad. And some things were just downright strange!

So, as usual, here’s a look back at some of the oddest headlines I stumbled across in 2024:

June 25: “Man charged with stealing 7 mobile homes in Hoke County” (reported by WRAL)

Crime stories are a dime a dozen usually, but this one in particular had me doing a double-take. When you read stories about stealing, it’s usually money or cars or other relatively small items getting snatched. Certainly not a house, let alone seven on them!

But apparently, this thief hired a tow driver to hitch up to the mobile homes and take them elsewhere. I assume no one was living in them at the time because otherwise, I’m sure the police would have added some kidnapping charges too. (Can you imagine waking up and discovering your house has moved elsewhere during the night? What a nightmare!)

The article didn’t explain why he felt the need to steal so many houses, so this one will remain a mystery.

July 26: “Flavor Flav hits Paris to boost his new passion: women’s water polo” (reported by NPR)

If you asked me to name a celebrity who is really into water polo, I don’t think rapper Flavor Flav would have been at the top of my list. Or on my list at all, really. But back when the Olympics got underway in July, NPR reported that he’d gone all-in to support the United States’ women’s team.

He became the self-proclaimed “official hype-man” and a full sponsor for the team after learning that they needed some financial backing. As a part of his “hype-man” status, Flavor Flav promoted the team by dressing up in a Team USA water polo jersey and cap, but also included his signature oversized clock necklace, which was, thankfully, waterproofed.

This just goes to show that you never know who might step up to help in a time of need.

September 13: “Vessel rescued in English Channel after emergency call to Dover, Delaware, instead of Dover, England” (reported by Associated Press)

An emergency situation is not the time you want to get caught up in a case of mistaken identity. But thankfully, in this case, it all turned out okay anyway.

An Albanian man learned that his brother’s boat, which was sailing in the English Channel, was sinking, so he went to the internet to search for “Dover Police Department,” intending to get in contact with authorities in Dover, England to help his brother. The first search result, however, was for the department in the Delaware city of Dover, a whole ocean away.

Instead of wasting time trying to get the caller to hang up and call the correct department, the dispatchers kept him on the line, gathered information, and quickly reached out to several agencies across the sea in order to make sure help was on the way. In the end, rescuers saved the people on the sinking boat in time.

All’s well that ends well, but in the future, we should probably all remember to double-check our sources in search results.

October 28: “Imposters stole thousands of pounds of posh cheddar, rattling the U.K. cheese world” (reported by NPR)

(Apologies in advance for two headlines this year about stolen items, but it was apparently a banner year for niche thieves.)

I love cheese as much as the next person, but perhaps not enough that I would participate in an elaborate scheme to steal some.

It sounds like something out of a silly Hollywood movie, but a high-dollar London cheesemaker had over $389,000 worth of cheddar cheese stolen by imposters who were posing as representatives from a French retailer. The thieves got away with 950 cheese wheels – which amounts to 48,500 pounds of cheese! That’s more than 24 tons!!

No one is quite sure what they’re planning to do with the stolen cheddar, but authorities asked people to be on the lookout for fancy cheese being sold at cheap prices and with the tags detached. I hope some of the cheese got recovered in time to be enjoyed by law-abiding citizens instead.

November 15: “She ran the New York City Marathon drunk. And she’d do it again” (reported by NPR)

This headline caught my attention because it immediately painted a picture in my mind of someone stumbling down the street, winding up amidst a horde of runners, trying to keep up. It wasn’t exactly like that, as I read the story, but it was still fascinating.

The 26-year-old runner had just completed the Chicago marathon a few weeks prior, focusing strictly on meeting her time goal in the race. So when she got to NYC’s race, she just decided to have more fun, and interact with friends and other spectators as she ran. That meant she drank every shot of liquor and cup of beer that people put in her hands along the way.

“The first guy handed me, I think, a shot of Hennessy. After that, it got really, really lit,” she said.

Professionals say it’s not a good idea to mix alcohol and running, but the marathoner took care to also drink plenty of water and Gatorade too. And she said she had no regrets, even if it took her more than an hour longer to finish the race compared to her Chicago run.

These headlines are only a few examples of all the strange and weird things people got up to in 2024. I can’t wait to see what 2025 brings!

Holly Taylor is a Staff Writer for Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact her at holly.taylor@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7206.