From weddings in a blizzard to world record breakers, here are some of the stories of 2022 that might have gone under your radar.
So much has happened this past year but don’t worry, we got you covered with these stories from 2022 that you may have missed.
In January, over 100 horses jumped through bonfires in a purification ceremony during the Spanish festival, "Las Luminarias." It was held for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began. The traditional nighttime celebration takes place every Jan. 16. That’s the eve of Saint Anthony’s day, Spain’s patron saint of animals. Revelers rode their horses through the narrow cobble-stoned streets lined with smoke, flames and bonfires. According to tradition, this purifies the animals for the coming year. After an hour of horses jumping over flames, people danced and drank the night away.
Also in January, a Rhode Island couple got married despite a blizzard. The groom wore ski pants, and the bride wore a heavy winter coat and snow boots.
In August, Lucas the penguin was living the good life thanks to custom orthopedic boots. Because of the disco spondylitis, Lucas had a bumblefoot. After getting therapy boots, Lucas’ waddle improved and is showing to have a much more normal gait walking on flat surfaces. There's no limping. There's no favoring his left side any longer. With his new boots, Lucas walked, swam, and climbed.
"I'm so excited that we've been able to do this for Lucas. Lucas was one of the first birds that I raised here at San Diego Zoo," a spokesperson for the San Diego Zoo said. "So I've known him since he was an egg, and we we are very attached to each other, so it warms my heart just to know that we've been able to do something to make him more comfortable, and to make him fit into the colony a little bit better."
When it comes to jumping rope, Ryan Alonzo is one of the best in the world. The Guinness World Record holder of the most double-under skips in 12 hours is also the Guinness World Record holder of the most consecutive jump rope crossovers.
In October, the 35-year-old completed 3,731 consecutive jump rope crossovers.
“You cannot trip, you just have to do as much as you can consecutively and the previous record was 2,405 consecutive crosses, so last month we got to do over 3,700,” he said.
For double-under skips, he did 40,980 in 12 hours.
“So that is really an endurance thing, a physical challenge,” he said. “So, I started jump rope maybe like 10 years ago or even more but I just use it as a warm-up, warm-up before I work out, warm-up before I play basketball or boxing. But then I took it a little more seriously during the pandemic because there's nothing else to do. The gyms were closed, you can’t play basketball.”
Also, in October, Minnesota farmer Travis Gienger broke the North American record for the largest pumpkin. He was crowned champ at the 50th Annual Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival, held in Half Moon Bay, California. After squashing the competition, Travis was awarded $9 per pound, which amounted to a little over $23,000, and bragging rights.
In November, several Illinois officers were hailed as heroes after saving a boy from drowning. They also saved a woman who went into the water to save the boy. It all started when the child attempted to retrieve his football from a frozen section of a pond and fell through the ice. The child and two officers had minor injuries and were taken to the hospital. Everyone was later released, and the boy’s mother was grateful.
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