2020What just happened?
You might be forgiven for having a certain amount of shellshock after the year we’ve just had – but amidst all the turmoil of lockdowns and economic meltdown, there was room for quite a lot of other news to elbow its way into the headlines. Over the next two weeks, the Sunday Star-Times will run through the past 12 months and test your knowledge of the year that was . . . and maybe just lay a little bit of it to rest!
January
1. Why were three koalas named Ian, Paul and Rick housed at a ‘‘fivestar koala hotel’’ in Canberra?
2. How did Iranian General Qassem Soleimani die on January 2?
3. Who posted on Instagram, ‘‘This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born’’ and why?
4. Who did Donald Trump describe as ‘‘one of the great crime fighters in the history of our country’’ on January 16 – the first day of his impeachment trial?
5. Which teams won the men’s and women’s titles in the 21st edition of the New Zealand Sevens tournament?
February
1. What was the classic Australian and New Zealand brand which had been ‘‘allowed to wither away’’ according to an ‘‘angry’’ Aussie PM Scott Morrison and a ‘‘totally shocked’’ Kiwi motorsport ace Greg Murphy?
2. No prizes for remembering Taika Waititi won an Oscar for Jojo Rabbit, but can you remember either the young Kiwi actress who played Elsa Korr in the movie or the Nelson-based author who wrote the novel Caging Skies, which inspired Waititi?
3. At the Halberg Awards, who won the top awards for sportsman, sportswoman and team of the year – and what sports did they represent?
4. Who played her first match for the Black Sticks since the Rio Olympics in 2016? And an extra point for remembering who was left on the sideline holding their 1-year-old baby Charlotte?
5. Which Kiwi band followed up their record-breaking, 50,000-strong, sell-out 2019 concert at Western Springs by doing it all again on February 22, 2020?
March
1. The family of which environmental activist released a book titled Our House is on Fire: Scenes of a family and a planet in crisis?
2. What was legalised (removed from the Crimes Act) after a vote in the Beehive which prompted National’s Amy Adams to state she had ‘‘done her bit to stand up for the women of New Zealand’’. 3. The Firebirds won the Plunket Shield for the first time in 16 years after the season was cut short on March 16 – but what sport were they playing?
4. Which gravel-voiced country music star famed for The Gambler and the duet Islands in the Stream with Dolly Parton died aged 81 on March 20?
5. In a surprise hearing on March 27, the man responsible for the Christchurch mosque shootings pleaded guilty to how many charges: 12, 52 or 92?
April
1. It was announced on April 4 that which NBA player would be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame posthumously after his death in a helicopter accident in January?
2. After hosting a show on TV3 called Rebuilding Paradise, which Kiwi broadcaster told Newsroom he thought there was ‘‘a good chance [New Zealand] will miss the opportunity: ‘‘I was hoping that there could be a bounce forward not a bounce back. It’s the human way – a life of least resistance. I’m not depressed, I’m disappointed.’’ 3. Which host of TV game show The Chase appeared on Kiwi screens in April in a series called Breaking Dad alongside his son Barney?
4.Who was the final rival to drop out of the US Democratic Party’s primaries, leaving the way clear for Joe Biden to be that party’s nominee for president?
5. Which Formula 1 star, who died aged 90 on April 12, won three of the five New Zealand Grands Prix he entered between 1956 and 1962?
May
1. Which NZ sports team decided to stitch the 2340 postcode for the Australian town of Tamworth on their jerseys and why?
2. Which secretive world leader was reported to have cut the ribbon on a fertiliser factory dispelling rumours of his demise and prompting President Trump to tweet ‘‘I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well!’’ 3. What former Oscar-nominated Whale Rider actor returned to our screens as an FBI analyst in US crime drama FBI: Most Wanted?
4. How much did chief executive of media company Stuff (and, coincidentally, our boss) Sinead Boucher buy the company for, ending months of speculation about a takeover?
5. When Todd Muller started his short-lived tenure as Leader of the Opposition, what controversial object previously displayed in his office did he say he had ‘‘packed . . . up in a box when I left the office and it will stay in the box’’?
June
1. After causing a global UFO sightings story in April after launching a trail of satellites that were spotted around the world, what space exploration company prompted media stories about its own UFO sighting when a Nasa livestream was cut on June 13?
2. New Zealand footballer Sarpreet Singh made his first start for which giant German club in the Bundesliga?
3. What was the name of the white police officer charged with second degree murder on June 3 after being filmed kneeling on George Floyd’s neck before Floyd was pronounced dead?
4. The mayor of which New Zealand city received death threats after the removal of a statue of a British naval commander after whom the city is named from the Civic Square?
5. Which NZ politician wore leopard print when they announced their retirement on June 29 saying their career had ‘‘been a hell of a ride and I have loved it’’?