ah 2024: The year we debated how to pronounce “hawk tuah,” pondered the health benefits of eating rocks, and made room for a Broadway show. The talk is shockingly pure and cheerful — at least for a few minutes before we all snap back to reality.
Online culture is more inescapable this year than ever before, but where and how we interact with that culture is increasingly fractured. So here are eight of the most viral and captivating moments that captured the year for me — but let me know what I missed.
The Willy Wonka experience turns sour.
An organization called the House of Illuminati advertises a magical Willy Wonka-themed experience with AI-generated flyers from “Encherining Entertainment” to “Imagnation Lab” (sic). The reality proved a bit less impressive — basically just a sparse Glasgow warehouse. But while the experience may be off-putting to anyone who actually pays for a ticket, This provides a seemingly endless source of funny images for online posters.
Google has decided that eating rocks is healthy.
AI-generated content has literally moved to the top of our search results, with Google pushing the less than completely reliable AI Overviews feature. Some of the results that went viral in the first few days after the launch included instructions to put glue on a pizza; It included instructions to look into the sun for half an hour and eat a small stone a day. Although Google was quick to remove the most high-profile of deplorable results. The issue has given a sneaky glimpse of what an AI-centric future might actually look like.
The internet celebrates “Brat” summer.
More than one album, Charli XCX's “Brat” is meant to be a celebration of lime green and (in the artist's words) “the girl who likes to be messy and party and sometimes say stupid things. ” If it sounds a little vague, don't worry about it: “It's cool. You're cool. It's cool.” Even Kamala Harris, for a brief moment of brilliance, is cool.
The 2020 Summer Olympics took place under the shadow of the pandemic (the games aren't even until 2021), but this year's event is back in delightful form. For American viewers, Streaming service Peacock helped figure out how to showcase the event's various glories. Although there were some truly heartwarming moments, like Celine Dion's Edith Piaf classic. From Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec's no-nonsense Australian separatist Raygun's wild antics, the internet's real heroes are more awesome.
Moo Deng bit her in the heart.
This pygmy hippopotamus, whose name means piglet, has quickly become the world's hottest new 'It girl,' according to the “Today Show” host. The small size of Moo Deng, who lives in Thailand's Khao Kheow Open Zoo, The painful but harmless bites and cute screams have gone viral on the internet. There's even something as pure and delightful as a cute baby hippo as the zoo has to deal with what tourists throw away poor Moo Deng.
“Bad” stars keep their fingers crossed.
“Wicked” is everywhere, thanks to a massive marketing push for the Broadway adaptation of this movie. But the biggest moment from the campaign, which stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande wrote, “people are taking the lyrics to 'Defying Gravity,' and really taking up space with it” — which made Grande's image unforgettable. He reached over and grabbed one of Erivo's fingers.
“Hawk Tuah girl” monetizes her 15 minutes of fame.
2024's Hottest Celebrity: “What is it about moving a man in bed that drives him crazy all the time?” Welch sells merchandise; She decided to capitalize on her popularity by starting a podcast and launching the “HAWK” memecoin. This last episode ended badly, with most tokens sold out in what appeared to be classic crypto rug pulling. (Welch has denied any wrongdoing.)
Bluesky has gone from open source underdog to fierce social media competitor.
Bluesky opened to the public in February, and just a few months after establishing an initial identity as a soft-left alternative to X, it reached the top of the app charts — the first in Brazil (where X was temporarily banned); After that, United States (after Donald Trump won the presidential election with the support of X owner Elon Musk). This is inevitable. Hand-waving musings about liberal echo chambers and the question of how Bluesky's newfound popularity will dilute its good vibes and gloriously weirdness have been raised.