Year Ender 2023:10 Bizzare Stories That Made Headlines, Elvish's Snake Venom Party To 'Animal' At Box Office

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2023 was a year filled with strange news stories that made headlines. From Elon Musk giving out blue ticks for free to controversial YouTuber Elvish Yadav's snake venom parties, it was a year of unexpected events and bizarre stories. Let's take a look at some of the most memorable moments from 2023.

1. OpenAI Drama: The Sam Altman Saga
First up, we have the drama at OpenAI. The dismissal and reinstatement of Sam Altman, the boss of OpenAI, happened within a span of five days. It was like a soap opera, with twists and turns that could rival a Netflix docu-series. The boardroom shake-up led to Sam Altman's exit and this led to a job offer by Google SEO Satya Nadella, who also posted a welcome note to Altman. This started a meme fest mocking the frivolous nature of the workings at the board rooms of Silicon Valley.

2. Elon Musk's Twitter Turns Into X
The tech giant Elon Musk took over Twitter in October 2022 and since then he has been truly off the rails. Not only did he immediately terminate the Twitter staff across countries, he also made the remaining workforce work for 20 hours in the office, and sleep at the workplace, sans food and toilet paper. Further, he took the blue ticks away in April 2023 from the key figures which include government officials and celebs like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga. However, soon he restored the blue ticks of the account with one million followers, killed the blue bird logo, and rebranded it with 'X'.

3. Zuckerberg's Dropping Of 'Threads'
While people were already sick in their stomachs with Elon's 'X'. Mark Zuckerberg tried to compete with his own app 'Threads', Meta's alternative to Twitter and it gained popularity at first but eventually lost the eye balls over time. This one too had a similar interface with Twitter, was connected to Instagram, and was easier on the eyes. Also, celebrities from Beyonce to Britney Spears and tech geeks were seen 'threading'. This app saw a record 100 million sign-ups in 24 hours, which made it the fastest-growing app in history. This led to Musk threatening Zuckerberg to take legal action for stealing trade secrets from Twitter employees.

4. Elvish Yadav's Snake Venom Party
Controversial YouTuber Elvish Yadav made headlines for his inappropriate behaviour in 2023 and the list includes alleged snake venom parties, and misogynistic videos mocking women. Well, thanks to him we have learned that snake venom can be used as a recreational drug. Post his Bigg Boss win, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Maneka Gandhi demanded Yadav's arrest over usage of snake venom at his party. His inappropriate behaviour with fellow female contestant Bebika Dhruve and catchphrase "Systum", which he uses to refer to the political system of India, garnered a lot of hate from netizens. He was also accused of stealing flower pots that were set up for the G20 event in Gurugram.

According to news reports, Five cobras, a red snake, a python, and two other snakes were recovered from the party venue. UP police filed an FIR under sections 9, 39,48A, 49, 50, 51 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, and section 120-B of the IPC but Yadav was eventually let off.

5. Elon And Mark's Boxing Match
Elon Musk was seen challenging Mark Zuckerberg for a boxing match, the proceeds of which he will donate to the US Army Veterans family. To this surprisingly, Zuckerberg tweeted, "send me location". The bizarre thing is that Zuck even went for training with UFC champions. Later when Musk proposed, he called "a literal dick-measuring contest" against Zuckerberg. The latter waited for Musk's response but eventually decided to not pay heed to his offer. "I think we can all agree Elon isn't serious and it's time to move on." He also mentioned, "If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me."

6. Who Is Orry? 'I Live, I am A Liver'
Orry, also known as Orhan Awatramani, became a social media sensation. He partied with Bollywood celebrities including Jahnavi Kapoor, Nysa Devgan, and Sara Ali Khan, and unabashedly embraced his generational wealth. It was refreshing to see someone be honest about their privilege at a time when nepotism is a hot topic. "You go for a job, you are a jobber. You paint, you are a painter. I am living, I am a liver. Yeah, I am a liver."- This became one of the most memorable quotes of 2023. With each paparazzi video, the curiosity around him increased.- "Who is he? What does he do?" were some of the most obvious questions.

7. 'Tay Tay' Eras Tour Saves The US Economy
Taylor Swift, or as we like to call her, 'Tay Tay', saved the US economy with her Eras Tour. When the theatres are closing down due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Taylor brought her Eras tour movie to theatres. The tour generated millions of dollars and created 3,300 jobs across the country, which is equal to the total number of employees working in cafes and bookstores in Los Angeles. It turns out, she's not just a pop star, but a superhero too.

According to a report in The Washington Post, hotel analytics group STR calculated that Eras Tour produced a $208 million bump in hotel room revenue, over and above normal seasonal levels, thus giving a boost to America's tourism industry.
AMC's (American movie theatre chain) stock rose by 6 percent, their website crashed - the 24-hour pre-sales of Swift's shows.

8. 'Animal' Unleashed: A Box Office Beast with a Bite
In December 2023, we had the release of the film 'Animal' by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, who is known for Kabir Singh. It received mixed reviews for its mindless violent and misogynistic themes, abusive protagonist, and toxic masculinity. But it still broke box office records. Looks like he is still hung up on his last creative endeavor. Also, post the release of the film, film critics were also attacked and according to reports, the massive followers and PR machinery, abused anyone who disliked or disagreed with the film on meritorious grounds.

9. 'Adipurush': A Mythological Mishap Due To Bad VFX, Dialogues
This Prabhas starrer 'Adipurush' was a box office disaster. The trailer of Om Raut-directorial had terrible special effects and questionable acting. People on social media were quick to point out these flaws and started trolling the film. It got so bad that the film's release date had to be pushed. It even got dropped from the Tribeca Film Festival at the last minute. But even when it did finally release, the right-wing audience it was pandering to was offended by the juvenile dialogues. Prabhas fans in the South were so angry that they even burned theaters. It was a mess, to say the least.

10. Israel-Gaza Conflict: Genocide, And Cry For Peace
Following the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, Israel has continued bombing hospitals in Gaza, killing innocent civilians, and wiping off the entire strip. This genocide sent shockwaves across the world and it felt surreal. The Israeli airstrikes killed 61% civilians, finds study as Gaza's death toll rises to 18,000. Hopefully, in the future, we can see peace and kindness prevail.

So there you have it, a recap of the most dramatic and shocking moments from 2023. It was a year filled with unexpected twists and turns, and we can't wait to see what 2024 has in store for us. With the rollercoaster of events from the tech world to Bollywood parties, and the global stage of conflict, we've seen it all. Here's to hoping the next year brings a little more calm, a lot more reason, and a boundless supply of good memes to help us through it all.