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The most bizarre stories of 2020: From perfume-loving roo to 'mutant' vege

Nadine Carroll
Updated ·4-min read

This year has been one that has made us laugh and cry, and finally learn how to wash our hands properly, but putting coronavirus aside there have been some bizarre stories that made headlines in Australia and across the world.

Here are some of the most memorable stories Yahoo News Australia reported in 2020.

Factory caught washing and reselling used condoms

The headline says it all but in case you were after more details – more than 345,000 used condoms were confiscated by police in September after it was discovered a Vietnamese warehouse was ‘washing’ used condoms and selling them as brand new.

Left are used condoms a Vietnamese factory were caught washing. Pictured right is a woman's potatoes taking over her apartment.
A Vietnamese factory was caught washing and selling used condoms as new (left), while in France a woman returned from lockdown to find potatoes had taken over her apartment (right). Source: AP/Mercury Press

The owner of the warehouse said they had received a “monthly input of used condoms from an unknown person”. Staff at the warehouse were then left to boil the condoms in water, dry them and reshape them before repackaging them as new.

Not surprisingly, health officials said recycling condoms were an extreme health risk.

Mutant spuds take over French woman’s home

Chances are at some point in 2020 you have had to quarantine in an effort to avoid the spread of Covid-19.

But for a woman in France who fled her apartment to spend lockdown at her boyfriend’s home, she returned to find something ‘mutating’ in her apartment.

It took three months for a bag of innocent looking potatoes to start sprouting metre-long roots and taking over a kitchen shelf.

Donna Porée, 22, said she was terrified at first but decided not to let a good spud go to waste and planted some of the shoots in her garden to see how they would grow in soil.

A man mowing his lawn in a tutu (left) and a New York couple on a date, with one in a bubble to social distance (right).
Aussie took complaints about fashion while mowing lawns seriously (left) and New Yorkers started dating during lockdown without ever having 'touched' (right). Source: Nissa Opdam/Twitter

New Yorkers fall in love via drone during Covid-19

It was a love story for modern times, a Brooklyn creative spots a “quarantine cutie” dancing on her rooftop and decides he has to find a way to meet her.

With the city in lockdown, there was only one way to confess his crush and it was via a piece of paper with his phone number on it attached to a drone.

He flew it over to her rooftop, she read it and dialled his number.

Jeremy Cohen kept his Twitter followers updated as he and Tori Cignarella dined while social distancing and went for a Covid safe walk. Mr Cohen kept safe inside of a bubble while they held ‘gloved’ hands and strolled around the neighbourhood.

For those wanting an update, the pair look like they have been going strong since March with the latest Twitter update in November showing they are still dating.

Bizarre lawn mowing trend takes over social media

Long before we were coming up with ways to keep occupied during lockdown, a group of locals from Brisbane decided they wanted to spice up the great Australian chore of mowing lawns.

After an anonymous complaint was made reporting a woman had been seen “mowing her lawn at 6.45pm on a Sunday while wearing a black dress and no shoes”, local Tyson Stafford decided he wanted to have some fun with his attire when tidying up his front lawn, so he started The ‘Salisbury Ridiculous Mowing Session’ on Facebook.

The idea took on a life of its own with dozens of locals getting dressed up one Sunday morning in February for a mass fashion parade/lawn mowing session.

Some wore tutus, others went all out with ball gowns and some made sure they were putting safety first by wearing stubbies and cricket gear.

Pictured left is a woman's back injuries inflicted by a kangaroo. On the right is Sarah Jessica Parker.
A vicious kangaroo attack (left) was sparked by Sarah Jessica Parker's (right) perfume. Source: 3AW/Getty Images

Celebrity perfume sparks kangaroo attack

When you find your signature scent it’s hard not to wear it everywhere.

But one woman learned not to wear it while jogging after a kangaroo attacked her because it wasn’t a fan.

Tracy Noonan told a radio station she was out for a run when she felt a “massive thump in the middle of my back”. Not one to back down, she turned around and began to fight off the roo that was attacking her.

She suffered some pretty sore scratches on her back and considers herself lucky to have survived the attack, with the roo continuing to stalk her for a further 20 minutes after she took shelter in a nearby home.

Ms Noonan said a ranger later explained the attack was due to her perfume aggravating the kangaroo, a scent from Sex And The City star and fashion icon Sarah Jessica Parker’s range.

Ms Noonan told 7News she would not be wearing thats perfume again.

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