The best headlines of 2021
The clever, the strange, and the downright bizarre
Let's be honest: Most headlines in 2021 were not very nice.
But just when you felt overwhelmed by the bombardment of news — about the pandemic and the Capitol insurrection and climate change — there'd be a hilarious headline about a mistranslation involving Adam Driver, or a zebra getaway in Maryland, or an eel that punnily ate a "squid from a clamp."
Here are the headlines that made us laugh and kept us sane in 2021.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
- Cate Blanchett wins permission for meditation room at her 'haunted' £4.9m Sussex mansion despite discovery of bat colony [Daily Mail]
- Queens man impeached — again [Queens Eagle]
- Joe the pigeon may be spared death amid speculation he's not from the U.S. [9 News]
- 15 people catch COVID-19 after reportedly attending cat's birthday party [New York Post]
- Scientists have taught spinach to send emails. It doesn't involve a computer. [News 18]
- Ignore the rumor about Adam Driver supposedly assaulting a woman with a folding chair, it was a mistranslation [Jezebel]
- Texas Department of Public Safety mistakenly sends Amber Alert for Chucky doll — 3 times [Associated Press]
- Wanted man quits lockdown at home for 'peace and quiet' in prison [The Guardian]
- Teen reunited with pet rooster lost at Alabama Cracker Barrel after Civil War reenactment [AL.com]
- Surly seal spotted on Charlottetown sidewalk apprehended by police [CBC]
- Boot fills Foot's boots as Shoe Zone finance boss [The Evening Standard]
- Apple study affirms that women do in fact have cramps during their periods [Gizmodo]
- Susan Sarandon wants to date someone vaccinated against COVID: 'I don't care if it's a man or a woman' [People]
- Italian mafia fugitive caught after posting cooking show on YouTube [BBC]
- $500,000 Confederate chair stolen from Alabama cemetery used as toilet, will be returned tonight [AL.com]
- Tui plane in 'serious incident' after every 'Miss' on board was assigned child's weight [The Guardian]
- Mysterious headless tree 'beast' revealed to be discarded croissant [The First News]
- Italian hospital employee accused of skipping work for 15 years [BBC]
- Hundreds of Joshes fight in field to crown one true Josh [Metro]
- AI designed to distinguish croissants from crullers and other pastries proves capable of identifying cancerous cells on microscope slides with 99 percent accuracy [The Daily Mail]
- California condors are very rare, but 10 percent of them are trashing this woman's house [CBC]
- Domino's is bringing back the Noid, a mascot that once drove a man to take hostages [The Washington Post]
- Japanese town spent COVID-19 relief funds on building a statue of a giant squid [CNN]
- A wandering tiger unnerved Houston. The man who fled with it is a murder suspect. [The New York Times]
- Man charged with wife's murder illegally cast her ballot for Trump, officials say: 'I just thought, give him another vote' [The Washington Post]
- Woman shares 'abandoned mall' she found under her Airbnb [Newsweek]
- A fungus could turn some cicadas into sex-crazed 'salt shakers of death' [The Washington Post]
- When an eel climbs a ramp to eat squid from a clamp, that's a moray [The New York Times]
- Tentacles of Manhattan DA's Trump probe reach former bodyguard Calamari [NBC News]
- Exorcism at Home Depot was for dead trees in lumber aisle [Patch]
- Apple's weather app won't say it's 69 degrees [The Verge]
- Officials hope to capture loose zebras with new plan involving even more zebras [WUSA9]
- Man eaten by piranhas after jumping into lake to escape bees [9 News]
- Florida man tried robbing Waffle House with finger guns, sheriff says [WFLA]
- Woman climbs over barrier in Bronx Zoo's lion exhibit, throws money in the air [NBC News]
- Walmart pulls children's toy off its website that swears and sings in Polish about doing cocaine [CTV News]
- Possum released without charges after holding woman hostage [Vice]
- Woman caught breastfeeding her hairless cat on a Delta flight [New York Post]
- Italian man tries to dodge COVID vaccine wearing fake arm [The Guardian]
- You have no idea how hard it is to get a hamster drunk [The Atlantic]
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's energy crisis
The Explainer Already beset by a host of issues, the island nation is struggling with nationwide blackouts
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Putin's fixation with shamans
Under the Radar Secretive Russian leader, said to be fascinated with occult and pagan rituals, allegedly asked for blessing over nuclear weapons
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Chimpanzees are dying of human diseases
Under the radar Great apes are vulnerable to human pathogens thanks to genetic similarity, increased contact and no immunity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies hang over Sydney's Mardi Gras
The Explainer Police officer, the former partner of TV presenter victim, charged with two counts of murder after turning himself in
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 24 February - 1 March
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will mounting discontent affect Iran election?
Today's Big Question Low turnout is expected in poll seen as crucial test for Tehran's leadership
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Sweden clears final NATO hurdle with Hungary vote
Speed Read Hungary's parliament overwhelmingly approved Sweden's accession to NATO
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published