Weird World: 12 Counterintuitive Events
![Weird World: 12 Counterintuitive Events](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/7/3/821073_320x180.jpg)
Every new year begins on a positive note (or at least we hope!). The fact is, modern times have made us question this assumption HARD. Things have been straight up rough out there for many people, and we’ll be dag nabbed and dog gummed if we know what’s coming down the pike next (ed note: this does not constitute authorization either to dag nab or dog gum any Cracked staff or it’s affiliates). Look, let’s just say recent history has made us wonder what the "new normal way of life" might look like. We’ve all had a chance to ponder he the expression "unprecedented times" a bit more.
Sure, the world is strange. That's something we're all aware of. But every now and again, you're simply taken aback by how, uh, strange things can get.
Are you excited yet?? Okay, us neither, but it’s worth recounting some some more bonkers things that actually happened. Scroll down for some truly wild stuff.
![WEIRD WORLD The Taliban are cracking down hard on members committing abuses. 3,000 members of the Taliban got kicked out - they were accused of committing abuses in Afghanistan and, according to a Taliban official, They were giving a bad name to the Islamic Emirate. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/3/4/821234.jpg)
![WEIRD WORLD A Canadian restaurant was accepting dog photos instead of vaccine proof. It turns out that staff, who should have been accepting either proof of vaccination or a negative test, were accepting dog photos -- so the restaurant got shut down. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/3/3/821233.jpg)
![WEIRD WORLD We've found out that masks actually make you look hotter. That's the conclusion of a study carried out by Cardiff University researchers - and apparently, the effect holds for both men and women. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/3/2/821232.jpg)
![WEIRD WORLD FedEx sees the need for anti-missile lasers on its cargo jets. Believe THE FedEx Express They want to put a missile defense system that directs infrared laser energy toward an incoming missile, in an effort to interrupt the missile's tracking of the aircraft's heat. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/3/1/821231.jpg)
![WEIRD WORLD Because of a blind date, one woman was locked down in a random apartment. She went on a blind date with a guy, and then a snap lockdown in Zhengzhou, China, hit - - and she had to stay at his place for days. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/2/9/821229.jpg)
![WEIRD WORLD A Louisiana Senate candidate has an ad in which he smokes marijuana. I hope this ad works to not only destigmatize the use of marijuana, but also forces a new conversation that creates the pathway to legalize this beneficial drug, and forgive those who were arrested due to outdated ideology, he said. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/2/3/0/821230.jpg)
![WEIRD WORLD A moose got trapped in a basement in Colorado, somehow. Apparently, it was grazing nearby, and managed to fall into a basement. Не wouldn't climb up the stairs (unsurprisingly), and wildlife officers had to get pretty resourceful in getting him CRACKED.COM out.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/8/4/821084.jpg)
![WEIRD WORLD A company can't figure out how it spent 460 million dollars. H 6556960 A 390 nona NOTE THE TEEK UNITED STATES OF AMERICAN - - E 4 D IK1 7258282A BERAZ D5471231 NOT 3BB 4 50 NOTH SRL FirstEnergy was supposed to spend that money on modernizing its electric grid, happened. but there's zero evidence that that actually CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/7/5/821075.jpg)
![WEIRD WORLD The Holy Father left the Vatican to visit a record shop and buy a CD. Не went to a shop in Rome, in full Papal robes and all, and came out holding a CD. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/8/0/821080.jpg)
![WEIRD WORLD Lay's is now making chips from potatoes grown in NFL stadium dirt. The new, limited-edition Golden Grounds chips are literally grown in soil that was taken from NFL stadiums and fields. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/7/8/821078.jpg)
![WEIRD WORLD To show patriorism, police in Hong Kong are now going to be goose-stepping. Apparently, it's a switch from the marching drills they used to do, and which dates back to British colonial times. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/8/3/821083.jpg)
![WEIRD WORLD Boris Johnson said no-one told him lockdown parties were a no-no. That was his defense against criticism for holding garden parties during lockdown, apparently. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/8/2/821082.jpg)