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Ah , 2024 : the year we debated how to pronounce “ hawk tuah , ” pondered the wellness benefits of eating rocks , and held infinite for a Broadway showstopper . It was a twelvemonth when the discourse could experience shockingly pure and joyful — at least for a few minute , before we all came tumbling back down to realness .
Online culture was more inescapable than ever this year , but where and how we prosecute with that refinement became increasingly fragment . So here are the eight viral , much - memed moments that captured the year for me — but feel spare to countenance me know what I missed !
A Willy Wonka experience ferment off-key
An organization forebode itself the House of Illuminati call a sorcerous , Willy Wonka - themed experience , with AI - generate fliers advertising everything from “ Encherining Entertainment ” to an “ Imagnation Lab ” [ sic ] . The reality proved a bit less fascinating — essentially , just a sparsely decorated Glasgow warehouse . But while the experience may have been a disappointment for anyone who actually pay for a ticket , it provide a seemingly unending source of bleakly hilarious images for online card .
Google decides it ’s sound to use up rocks
AI - generate cognitive content literally moved to the top of our search results , with Google pushing an AI Overviews feature that proved less than entirely dependable . Some of the answer that went viral in the first few day after launching included instructions to add glue to pizza pie , stare into the sun for up to half an hour , and run through one belittled rock per day . And while Google promptly withdraw the most gamey - profile of the moan - worthy event , the debacle illustrated how dumb an AI - centric future tense could actually be .
The cyberspace celebrates “ Brat ” summer
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More than just an album , Charli XCX ’s “ Brat ” was a vibe , defined by calcium hydroxide greenish and a celebration of being ( in the creative person ’s Scripture ) “ that daughter who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe sound out some dumb things sometimes . ” If that sounds a bit obscure , do n’t occupy about it : “ It ’s brat . You ’re brat . That ’s holy terror . ” For a brief , clamber moment , even Kamala Harris was brat .
kamala IS brat
The Olympics are fun again
The 2020 Summer Olympics choose place in the shadow of a pandemic ( the games did n’t even encounter until 2021 ) , but this yr ’s outcome marked a proceeds to delightful form . For American viewers , it helped that cyclosis service Peacock fancy out how to showcase the result ’s glorious variety . There were genuinely heartwarming moments , like Celine Dion ’s performance of an Edith Piaf classic , but the net ’s on-key wedge were more offbeat , from the unflappability of Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec to the uncivilised moves of Australian breakdancer Raygun .
Moo Deng bite her room into our hearts
With a name have in mind “ bouncy porc , ” this pygmy hippopotamus chop-chop became , accord to a “ Today Show ” legion , the “ hot novel ‘ It girl ’ on the planet . ” Footage of Moo Deng live her life in Thailand ’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo took over the cyberspace , thanks to her diminutive size , her touchy - but - harmless bites , and her precious screams . Of naturally , even something as seemingly virgin and delightful as a cute baby hippo had its dark side , as the zoo had to contend with tourists throw things at poor Moo Deng .
The stars of “ Wicked ” hold infinite and fingers
“ Wicked ” was everywhere this fall , as a massive marketing push turned the photographic film into the highest - gross Broadway version ever . But the biggest second from the campaign was by all odds unscripted , with stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande on the face of it overwhelmed when a diary keeper told them “ hoi polloi are taking the lyrics to ‘ Defying Gravity ’ and really holding space with that ” — make the unforgettable simulacrum of Grande reaching over and clutch one of Erivo ’s digit .
The “ Hawk Tuah girl ” monetizes her 15 minutes of fame
2024 ’s most 2024 fame was Hailey Welch , a young cleaning woman who became notable for her colourful solvent to the question , “ What ’s one move in seam that makes a human race go crazy every time ? ” Welch decided to capitalize on her notoriety by selling merch , starting a podcast , and even launching the “ HAWK ” memecoin . That last part ended badly , with the legal age of tokens sold off in what looks like a Hellenic crypto carpet pull . ( Welch has deny any wrongdoing . )
Bluesky proceed from open seed underdog to serious social sensitive challenger
Bluesky opened to the public in February , and a few calendar month after creating an initial identity as a scrappy , leftist alternative to X , it photograph to the top of the app chart — first in Brazil ( where X was concisely ban ) , then in the United States ( after Donald Trump come through the presidential election with support from X owner Elon Musk ) . This , perhaps inevitably , moderate to deal - wringing think slice about bountiful echo sleeping accommodation , as well as questions about how Bluesky ’s newfound popularity might dilute its good vibes and glorious bizarreness .
