There’s no doubt about it: 2020 was a year of momentous headlines.
The year started off tragically with the downing of a Ukranian airliner with 63 Canadians on board on Jan. 8, and moved into nationwide protests in support of the Wet’suwet’en pipeline opponents in northern B.C. before the COVID-19 pandemic took over.
The tidal wave of momentous news was enough that the year itself has become something of a shorthand every time a troubling — or unusual — story surfaced.
Here’s a look at some of the B.C. news stories that might be considered “peak 2020.”
Murder hornets
It wouldn’t be 2020 without the murder hornets.
The insects, actually called Asian giant hornets or Vespa Mandarina, actually first turned up in B.C. and Washington state in late 2019.
But they went viral in May after the New York Times referred to them by their nickname, when they reappeared in Washington.
The hornets are invasive to North America, and are of great concern to environmentalists and agriculture officials because of their voracious appetite for honey bees.
Since their reappearance in the spring, there have been multiple sightings in Blaine, Wash., near the border with B.C., prompting a high-tech search operation in the state.
Officials used radio trackers to follow one of the bugs back to its nest, where specialists who were dressed in suits resembling something from a science fiction movie eradicated the colony.
But the murder hornet story likely isn’t over yet. Since the nest’s destruction, there have been several sightings on this side of the border in B.C.’s Fraser Valley.
B.C.’s viral top doctor
Only in 2020 could a provincial health officer — a bureaucrat with usually a limited public profile — become a viral celebrity.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, who has led B.C.’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, is best known for her public briefings, her soft voice and her mantra of “be kind, be calm and be safe.”
But when you’re in the public eye as much as Henry, the little things sometimes become big, too.
She’s been the subject of songs, been given an Indigenous name, and had her own name applied to everything from SPCA rescue puppies to cocktails.
Her well-known predilection for Fluevog shoes took on a life of its own, when the local footwear designer created a shoe in her honour and donated the proceeds of sales to charity.
When the province was under its tightest restrictions during the pandemic’s first wave, her home hairdo became news.
And more recently, the doctor went viral for an impromptu dance move she performed ahead of one of her live briefings.
Not all of the attention has been good, however. As the public official charged with rolling out often unpopular and sweeping orders, Henry has faced criticism and anger.
In September, she revealed that she has received death threats and hired security for her home.
New Westminster’s pier park destroyed by arson
As if a pandemic wasn’t bad enough.
Amid COVID-19 restrictions New Westminster residents also found themselves without one of the best places to go to get out of the house while still being socially distanced, after it went up in flames.
The fire broke out on Sept. 13, and quickly grew to engulf much of the popular Pier Park, a reclaimed stretch of waterfront built on old, unfortunately flammable pilings.
The massive blaze took days to fully extinguish, and destroyed the popular WOW Westminster sculpture.
The mayor said a replacement would cost around $24 million and take years.
Sean Warnick, 49, was later charged with arson and mischief.
Monoliths and other supernatural sightings
We’re not saying it was aliens, but we’re not saying it wasn’t.
In late November, a metal monolith appeared unexpectedly in the Utah desert, before vanishing just as mysteriously.
Monoliths then began popping up in countries around the world.
Naturally, the trend made its way to Vancouver, where similarly shaped objects appeared in several parts of the city including Kitsilano Beach and Dude Chilling Park.
At least one was fabricated by a serious builder, involving welding and metalwork. Others were of the more quick-and-dirty variety, wrapped in aluminum foil.
The monoliths weren’t the only uncanny appearance in the province this year.
An unusual grid formation of shell fragments cropped up on Haida Gwaii in August, prompting locals to speculate that it could be anything from local supernatural spirits to aliens.
Some people suggested the shapes were caused by a rare oceanic phenomenon known as “square waves.”
Professor Robert Holman, an expert in beach processes and near-shore waves and currents at the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University, told Global News it’s unlikely the shapes occurred naturally.
But Skidegate Chief Councillor Bill Yovanovich told Global News the formations were still visible in December, and that he was adamant they aren’t manmade.
And 2020 wouldn’t be complete in supernatural British Columbia without an appearance from the province’s most famous paranormal presence, Ogopogo.
In August, a new video of Okanagan Lake surfaced that raised the perennial debate: Is it B.C.’s answer to the Loch Ness Monster or is it a wave?
The minute-long video starts with some small waves on a mostly serene lake. However, seconds in, something black appears in the ripples and disappears, then appears again.
Was it the Ogopogo? As usual, no one knows for sure.
B.C. CDC recommends ‘glory holes’
Here’s another B.C. pandemic headline that raised eyebrows and got giggles across Canada this year.
In July, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control posted guidelines for safe sex during COVID-19 to its website, including the recommendation to try “glory holes” for physically distanced sex.
It’s a small hole cut into a wall to be used for anonymous sex.
With the pandemic preventing face-to-face contact, the CDC appeared to suggest the method was ripe for a comeback.
“Use barriers, like walls (e.g., glory holes), that allow for sexual contact but prevent close face-to-face contact,” the health organization said on its website.
The advice went viral, kicking off a slew of online jokes and even a tongue-in-cheek offer of $100,000 from a pornography website for B.C. to build glory holes.
All kidding aside, the CDC’s tips were serious and included other suggestions to stay safe such as avoiding kissing, solo or mutual masturbation, and virtual sex.
Bear bangers
As if being stuck at home for weeks wasn’t bad enough, residents of several Vancouver neighbourhoods found themselves in what sounded like a war zone this spring.
People began to report loud, gunshot-like blasts in Strathcona, Crosstown and the Downtown Eastside in growing numbers.
“It used to be every now and then, now it’s almost like every hour or a couple in an hour on certain days,” Joel Rivera, a Crosstown resident, told Global News.
The noise was coming from “bear bangers” — explosive devices designed to scare wildlife away in the backcountry.
Police said they went from two bear-banger reports in January to 88 in May. It’s still unclear what prompted the surge in popularity.
In the end, council banned the sale of the devices within city limits.