Looking back on the year that was 2018 leaves us laughing and crying. But before we move on, we thought we needed to take a look back at the strangest and craziest stories from the year that was. There was no shortage of odd and bizarre Northeast Ohio stories from 2018. Happy New Year to all and here’s to all the weird stories we know are coming our way in 2019.
Looking back on the year that was 2018 leaves us laughing and crying. But before we move on, we thought we needed to take a look back at the strangest and craziest stories from the year that was. There was no shortage of odd and bizarre Northeast Ohio stories from 2018. Happy New Year to all and here’s to all the weird stories we know are coming our way in 2019.
“Did You Shart Yourself at The Plum on Valentine’s Day and Throw Out Your Boxers in the Bathroom?”
Feb. 15
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Yes, someone, mid-romantic dinner, sharted, excused himself from his date, took off his pants, deposited the offending undergarments in question, returned to dinner commando style, presumably after cleaning himself up a bit, and went on with his meal.
Photo via Scene Archives“A Florida University Was Evacuated After a Student Did the LeBron Powder Toss in Class”
Feb. 28
Even though LeBron retired his signature pregame chalk toss years ago, it’s become a popular thing to imitate. It didn’t go so well for one University of Central Florida student when he did it and caused his class to be evacuated and was later questioned by police.
Photo via Scene Archives“Two Brave Souls Ate More Chicken Nuggets Than the Denver Nuggets Scored Points Last Night and Conquered the #MeVsNuggets Challenge”
March 8
For years, the Cavaliers’ Twitter community has been doing the #MeVsNuggets tradition. Every time the local basketball team battles the Denver Nuggets, fans attempt to eat more McDonalds’ Chicken McNuggets than points that the Nuggets score. The Cavs actually had their two battles with the Nuggets in the same week in 2018 and one fan ate 229 in just two nights total within a week of each other.
Photo via Scene Archives“Here Are Two Porta Potties 100 Feet Over Downtown Cleveland”
March 20
This could be confused with an Onion headline. But it’s actually two porta-potties hanging over the city.
Photo via Scene Archives“Portage County Man Accused of Robbing Gas Station With Sock”
March 21
Usually, getting socked in the face sounds pretty scary. But with an actual sock, much less so, which is why we were all pretty shocked that a robber using a sock to rob a gas station actually worked.
Photo via Scene Archives“Indians Pitcher Trevor Bauer Donating $420.69 to Various Charities Over 69 Days”
March 28
We’re not gonna hate on donating to charity. We’ll leave it to enigmatic Tribe pitcher Trevor Bauer to make sex and pot jokes out of philanthropy.
Photo via Scene Archives“North Ridgeville Police Save Man From Persistent Pig”
May 21
North Ridgeville police assumed the Ohio man was drunk or on drugs. Why else would a person call authorities to say a pig was following him on his walk home at 5 a.m. on a Saturday? But when the police arrived on the scene that morning, they found an incredibly sober individual actually being tailed by a pig on his walk from an Elyria train station.
Photo via Scene Archives“Hordes of Midges Show up on Cleveland Doppler Radar”
June 4
Those damn midges that invade the city every year are very annoying. But the fact that they actually show up on radar is just bizarre.
Photo via Scene Archives“Free Goat Yoga Comes to Public Square Tomorrow, in Honor of Our Own GOAT”
June 5
Goat yoga? Huh? Yes, in honor of the former Cleveland Cavalier GOAT (greatest of all time) LeBron James, yoga, with actual goats roaming around Public Square, was actually a thing.
Photo via Scene Archives“Check Out This Driver Skillfully Going Backwards Down an Ohio Highway”
June 6
It’s incredibly stupid and dangerous to drive backwards anywhere, especially on the highway. That said, to do it without injuring anyone or getting in an accident? We’re impressed.
Photo via Scene Archives“Two Akron Firefighters on Paid Leave After Allegedly Making Porn at Fire Station”
June 18
Two Akron firefighters were awarded paid leave after allegations surfaced that they created pornographic videos in one of their fire stations. Sounds steamy.
Photo via Scene Archives“27 Reptiles Found Abandoned, Emaciated in Richland County”
June 19
Hoarding animals is way more sad than funny, and that was the case when 27 reptiles were rescued from a home in Ontario, Ohio. That said, who has 27 reptiles? Stop hoarding animals, people.
Photo via Scene Archives“Lorain Police Officer Fired After Detaining Daughter’s Boyfriend, Saying ‘We’ll Make Shit Up As We Go’
June 22
A Lorain police officer was fired when he conducted a traffic stop on his daughter’s boyfriend without cause and temporarily detained his daughter and her boyfriend in the back of his squad car. His daughter hasn’t gone on any dates since. Allegedly.
Photo via Scene Archives“Watch This Video of a Cavs ‘Fan’ Accidentally Setting Himself on Fire Trying to Burn His LeBron Jersey”
July 5
When one Cavaliers’ fan decided to recreate the infamous “LeBron jersey burning video” from when he first left Cleveland, things backfired, literally. He set himself on fire.
Photo via Scene Archives“’Sweet Pussy’ Incense Available at Cleveland Convenience Store For Incredible Price”
July 9
For some reason, someone created an incense that smells like “Sweet Pussy” and a west side convenience store decided to carry it.
Photo via Scene Archives“Today’s Cleveland Weather Forecast: 100% Chance of Avocado”
July 20
When showing the weather forecast, someone in the graphics department didn’t realize they were drawing an avocado over Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky; it does look tasty though.
Photo via Scene Archives“Animal Advocates Rescued More Than 600 Birds From an Ohio Bird Hoarder”
Aug. 15
Stop hoarding animals, people! 600 birds in one house is more than obscene, which is what one home in Clintonville in Columbus was discovered to have this summer.
Photo via Scene Archives“With Installation of Gordon Square Paddle Ball Statue Comes Paddle Ball World Record Attempt Next Saturday”
Sept. 6
Look, we’re not gonna argue with a giant paddle ball statue, because it’s frankly pretty awesome. But also, pretty odd.
Photo via Scene Archives“’Dead Body’ Found in Ohio Nature Preserve Was Actually a Sex Doll”
Sept. 28
In Hamilton County, police responded to what some engineer crews thought to be a dead body. Turned out, someone just left their, uh, companion in the woods.
Photo via Scene Archives“A Fight Over Confetti Broke Out During a Gender Reveal Party at an Ohio Applebee’s”
Oct. 12
Gender reveal parties are all the rage these days. However, a party at Applebee’s took that rage literally when they tried to fight the staff after being thrown out because they wouldn’t clean up their confetti.
Photo via Scene Archives“The ‘Alt-Knight’ is Running For Ohio Congress. No, Seriously”
Oct. 16
The man known around town as the ‘Alt-Knight’, dressing in a full knight’s regale and often harassing locals with racist and homophobic slurs officially ran for congress this past fall. Hey, they’re electing anyone for public office these days (see: President Donald J. Trump).
Photo by Eric Leiser“Jim Renacci Didn’t Pay for Campaign Flights on Cleveland Strip-Club Owner’s Plane”
Oct. 18
The right often masquerades as the “family values” party. Yet the keep getting caught hanging out with less than kosher characters, which was the case when Jim Renacci was getting flown around to campaign events by a former strip club owner.
Photo via Scene Archives“An Ohio Man Ate 400 Skyline Chili Coney Dogs This Year and is Somehow Still Alive”
Oct. 19
We’re getting a stomach ache just from reading the headline. The man actually ate 400 hot dogs in less than 300 days, averaging 1.3 chili dogs per day.
Photo via Scene Archives“The People in Tents Near the Q Want You to Know They’re Not Homeless, But Camping for Twenty One Pilots”
Oct. 22
What may have looked like a homeless encampment outside Quicken Loans Arena was actually hardcore fans of the bro band Twenty One Pilots camping out for the concert, for some asinine reason.
Photo via Scene Archives“Ohio Haunted House Held ‘Swastika Saturday’ Event on Day of Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting”
Oct. 29
In one of the dumber, more insensitive moves of the year, a local haunted house decided to hold something called ‘Swastika Saturday’, a night that would’ve been dumb to have any time, but especially stupid the same day as the deadliest shooting in the history of Jews in America.
Photo via Scene Archives“Learn About Farts, Boogers and Puke at the Great Lakes Science Center ‘Grossology’ Exhibit”
Nov. 2
Yes, puke, farts and boogers are apart of science too, and that’s why the Great Lakes Science Center put on a ‘Grossology’ exhibit, even if it’s, yes, gross.
Photo via Scene Archives“Cleveland Still Has the Worst Bed Bug Infestation Problem in the Country, Terminix Finds”
Nov. 16
The pet control company Terminix found that Cleveland has the highest instances of bed bug infestations in the country. Gross!
Photo via Scene Archives“Some Class Act Drew a Huge Penis in the Snow This Morning in Downtown Cleveland”
Dec. 7
One artist got busy this Winter and decided to draw a penis in the snow in one of the mall lawns in downtown Cleveland. No word yet on if the culprit was found.
Photo via Scene Archives“Advance Publications Plans to Outsource Local PD Jobs, Hires PR Firm to Run Interference”
Dec. 12
In one of the sadder stories of the year regarding the state of journalism, it was revealed that the company that owns the Plain Dealer was looking to outsource local jobs, something that would’ve been virtually unheard of in the past.
Photo via Scene Archives“Maybe Don’t Ever Eat at the McDonald’s by the Cleveland Clinic”
Dec. 18
In one of the grosser stories of the year, it was revealed that the McDonalds near the Cleveland Clinic has been cited for health violations multiple times, including an exterminator extracting forty, yes 4-0, mice from the restaurant.
Photo via Scene Archives
