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Weird and wacky moments of 2023, captured in photos

Why did Spider-Man meet the Pope? Why did the sheep cross Madrid? Explore the offbeat moments Reuters photographers captured this past year

This article was published more than 6 months ago. Some information may no longer be current.

The past year has had its weird and wacky moments, as evidenced by the images captured while photojournalists from Reuters news agency were on assignment. From the World Gravy Wrestling Championships to a flock of sheep filling the downtown streets of Madrid, here are the curious, wonderful and downright odd things that caught their eyes.


A member of the teamLab art collective gets an exhibit ready on Nov. 17 at the Azabudai Hills complex in Tokyo. The group's museum is relocating here from the Odaiba entertainment district across town, and is set to reopen in February. Kim Kyung-hoon/Reuters
Near the Great Pyramids, a camel wears a hat to keep cool during a Cairo heatwave on July 19. Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters
A seal rests on a rock near Île aux Moutons, a bird sanctuary off France’s Breton coast. Pascal Rossignol/Reuters
A ‘blue moon’ rises behind the Temple of Poseidon near Athens on Aug. 30. A blue moon is when the moon is full for the second time in a calendar month, or the fourth time in a season that usually has only three. Stargazers can catch the next one on Aug. 19, 2024. Stelios Misinas/Reuters
The Lyrid meteor shower, shown in a composite image of 28 photos, streaks through the sky above Didgori, Georgia, on April 22. Lyrid showers, named for their ties with the constellation Lyra, are an annual event whose earliest recorded sighting is 2,800 years old. Irakli Gedenidze/Reuters
Water drains from a plug hole at the Ladybower Reservoir in northern England on Oct. 22 after Storm Babet dumped heavy rains across western and northern Europe. The holes lead to tunnels that take excess water to the River Derwent. Carl Recine/Reuters
In Los Angeles on Jan. 24, fans at this Lakers-Clippers game got a closer look at LeBron James than they bargained for when he dove after a ball in the second half. The Clippers won 133-115. Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA Today Sports/Reuters
Competitors take part in the World Gravy Wrestling Championships at the Rose ‘N’ Bowl pub in Stacksteads, England, on Aug. 28. Phil Noble/Reuters
Erika Sedlacek, a professional highliner, balances 114 metres above Sao Paulo on Jan. 25, crossing a line 510 metres long. Carla Carniel/Reuters
People in Hanam, South Korea, relax on Oct. 16 in a field of pink muhly grass, a plant native to the United States and Mexico. Kim Hong-ji/Reuters
Sheep fill Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square on Oct. 22 during the Transhumance Festival, an annual event celebrating shepherds’ traditional migration from northern to southern Spain. Today, it also bills itself as a tribute to biodiversity and the fight against climate change. Susana Vera/Reuters
Revellers in Galaxidi, Greece, suit up for the Ash Monday ‘flour war’ on Feb. 27, a traditional celebration before the start of Lent. Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters
Belgians dress as the folk character Gille on Feb. 21 at the Binche carnival, another pre-Lent ritual recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage event. Yves Herman/Reuters
A dog gets in the coronation spirit in London on May 7, at one of the ‘Big Lunch’ events organized in honour of King Charles III. Yara Nardi/Reuters
Jared Leto dresses as Karl Lagerfeld’s cat Choupette at New York’s Met Gala on May 1. This year’s event was a tribute to Lagerfeld, a German fashion designer who died in 2019. Andrew Kelly/Reuters
A motorcyclist – dressed as the Marvel antihero Ghost Rider, complete with an illuminated flaming skull – sets out on Halloween night in Valparaiso, Chile. Rodrigo Garrido/Reuters
Pope Francis greets Mattia Villardita, an Italian who dresses as Spider-Man to cheer up children in hospitals, at the weekly Vatican general audience on May 10. Remo Casilli/Reuters

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