The craziness continued in 2011
This year proved just as crazy as any other. Nose for news person that I am, I kept track of some of the zanier happenings of 2011 that for whatever reasons didn’t quite make the headlines.
Some of the stories involved weather. Others were human driven. Here is just a sampling of the year’s mayhem.
Jan. 12 – Of the 50 United States, Florida was the only one without measurable snow on the ground.
Jan. 28 – A woman in Kent, England returned a dog she had adopted from the local rescue kennel because it clashed with her curtains.
Feb. 27 – Frank Buckles, the sole remaining U.S. World War I veteran, died at age 110 at his home in Charles Town, W.Va.
March 13 – Police in Ashland, Ohio ticketed the driver of an Amish buggy for drag racing another buggy on the way to church.
March 25 – A report on global health said that worldwide 4.6 billion people had cell phones while 4.3 billion people had access to a toilet.
April 11 – Scientists in England determined that April 11, 1954 was the most boring day in the 20th century.
May 17 – Watermelons in China exploded on the vines because farmers there apparently added growth chemicals too late in the season.
May 21 – U.S. Census figures showed that the Hispanic population had surpassed the Amish population in Lancaster County, Pa.
June 4 – Bobby Bradley, age 9, became the youngest trained pilot to fly a hot air balloon solo when he launched at Albuquerque, New Mexico and landed a half hour later.
June 17 – A deer fawn apparently dropped by an eagle onto a high voltage line caused a power outage in East Missoula, Mont.
July 28 – The U.S. Census showed that the country’s rural population totaled just 16 percent of the national population, the lowest rate in history.
August 2 – In trying to get to the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad, Calif., pro tennis player Bojana Jovanovski flew from Washington, D.C. to Carlsbad, New Mexico.
August 18 – The small Pacific resort island of Aitutaki, part of the Cook Islands, had its first bank robbery ever, with the thieves making off with $166,000.
Sept. 24 – A total of 18,000 people attended the annual RoadKill Cook-off and Autumn Harvest Festival held in Marlinton, W.Va.
Oct. 16 – Fauja Singh, 100, completed the Toronto Marathon, becoming the oldest person on record to finish a run of 26 miles 385 yards.
Oct. 28 – A 60-year old New Mexico woman went straight to jail after allegedly stabbing her boyfriend over a game of Monopoly.
Oct. 31 – Inside Insurance Magazine rated West Virginia as the state where drivers are most likely to hit a deer.
Nov. 30 – An 80-year-old Chicago man donated an old wool suit to Goodwill, only to remember too late that he had hid his life savings of $13,000 in one of the pockets.
Dec. 4 – A chain-reaction crash on an expressway in Japan resulted in 14 luxury automobiles, including eight Ferraris, three Mercedes-Benzes and a Lamborghini, being destroyed or heavily damaged.
Dec. 7 – Pantone Inc., announced that Tangerine Tango would be the 2012 color of the year.
Let’s hope 2012 is a better year for you, me, and for all who grace God’s good earth, even if we have to wear some shade of orange.
Some of the stories involved weather. Others were human driven. Here is just a sampling of the year’s mayhem.
Jan. 12 – Of the 50 United States, Florida was the only one without measurable snow on the ground.
Jan. 28 – A woman in Kent, England returned a dog she had adopted from the local rescue kennel because it clashed with her curtains.
Feb. 27 – Frank Buckles, the sole remaining U.S. World War I veteran, died at age 110 at his home in Charles Town, W.Va.
March 13 – Police in Ashland, Ohio ticketed the driver of an Amish buggy for drag racing another buggy on the way to church.
March 25 – A report on global health said that worldwide 4.6 billion people had cell phones while 4.3 billion people had access to a toilet.
April 11 – Scientists in England determined that April 11, 1954 was the most boring day in the 20th century.
May 17 – Watermelons in China exploded on the vines because farmers there apparently added growth chemicals too late in the season.
May 21 – U.S. Census figures showed that the Hispanic population had surpassed the Amish population in Lancaster County, Pa.
June 4 – Bobby Bradley, age 9, became the youngest trained pilot to fly a hot air balloon solo when he launched at Albuquerque, New Mexico and landed a half hour later.
June 17 – A deer fawn apparently dropped by an eagle onto a high voltage line caused a power outage in East Missoula, Mont.
July 28 – The U.S. Census showed that the country’s rural population totaled just 16 percent of the national population, the lowest rate in history.
August 2 – In trying to get to the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad, Calif., pro tennis player Bojana Jovanovski flew from Washington, D.C. to Carlsbad, New Mexico.
August 18 – The small Pacific resort island of Aitutaki, part of the Cook Islands, had its first bank robbery ever, with the thieves making off with $166,000.
Sept. 24 – A total of 18,000 people attended the annual RoadKill Cook-off and Autumn Harvest Festival held in Marlinton, W.Va.
Oct. 16 – Fauja Singh, 100, completed the Toronto Marathon, becoming the oldest person on record to finish a run of 26 miles 385 yards.
Oct. 28 – A 60-year old New Mexico woman went straight to jail after allegedly stabbing her boyfriend over a game of Monopoly.
Oct. 31 – Inside Insurance Magazine rated West Virginia as the state where drivers are most likely to hit a deer.
Nov. 30 – An 80-year-old Chicago man donated an old wool suit to Goodwill, only to remember too late that he had hid his life savings of $13,000 in one of the pockets.
Dec. 4 – A chain-reaction crash on an expressway in Japan resulted in 14 luxury automobiles, including eight Ferraris, three Mercedes-Benzes and a Lamborghini, being destroyed or heavily damaged.
Dec. 7 – Pantone Inc., announced that Tangerine Tango would be the 2012 color of the year.
Let’s hope 2012 is a better year for you, me, and for all who grace God’s good earth, even if we have to wear some shade of orange.
Published: December 18, 2011
