It’s been a big year for British Columbia. We reported a lot of serious, important news over the last 12 months – and you won’t find any of it on this list.
Instead, this list is dedicated to the quirky, off-beat stories that piqued the CTV British Columbia web team’s interest in 2013, from whale tooth porn to the woman who got famous by stealing back her stolen bike. Check them out below.
Paying over spilled milk: driver dinged $4,800 for dairy accident
Who knew you could write off a car for something as simple as spilled milk?
That’s exactly what happened after a fender-bender in June. A dairy container was knocked over in a Dodge Dakota, the milk spoiled in the sun and an unpleasant stench was left inside.
Though it’s possible the smell could have been washed out, ICBC said the Dodge’s owners had the right to request a new vehicle. And request they did.
That gave the woman who caused the accident, Michelle Chapman, two choices: pay higher insurance premiums or a $4,800 bill for the truck.
There may be no use crying over spilled milk, but in this case, we wouldn’t blame her.
B.C. woman steals her bike back from bike thief
Many people, particularly in Vancouver, have experienced the sinking feeling that sets in as you realize your bike is stolen. Most respond by filing a police report and moving on.
But gutsy bartender Kayla Smith took it a step further in August after spotting her own bike on Craigslist. She set up a meeting with the thief, but admits she didn’t have much of a plan beyond that.
“I just went down there and was like, if it’s my bike I’ll deal with it then,” Smith told CTV News.
It was just as well. When she confirmed it was her bike, she simply hopped on and pedaled like the wind, ending an inspirational story that reached as far as the UK’s Daily Mail and the New York Daily News.
Kanye West pulls concert plug hours before show time
Only Kanye West and his famous ego could fathom cancelling a concert hours before show time without so much as an explanation.
Canucks Sports & Entertainment sent out a news release blaming “unforeseen circumstances” for the cancellation at 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 20. The doors of Rogers Arena were set to open at 7.
Blogs speculated about equipment troubles, even a theft from the tour’s trucks, but fans who booked hotels and drove into Vancouver from across B.C. waited to get an official explanation from Yeezus himself, or at least an apologetic tweet. They got neither.
Some eventually blamed the rap superstar's suspiciously-timed proposal to girlfriend Kim Kardashian, which took place the day after the cancellation in a rented baseball stadium.
The rescheduled show failed to generate as much excitement as the first, and was ultimately cancelled as well.
No tag, no hugging, no touching: school bans kindergartener contact
The story of a Langley elementary school that banned kindergarten students from touching each other certainly touched a nerve in B.C.
Coghlan Fundamental Elementary’s zero-tolerance policy, designed to put an end to roughhousing during recess, punished children with missed playtime and trips to the office – even for playing an innocent game of tag.
Concerned parents said the practice was extreme and, more importantly, unrealistic. Most parents of kindergarten-aged children would probably be inclined to agree.
Whale tooth porn? Sailor art exhibit raises eyebrows
In March, the Vancouver Maritime Museum stood firmly behind its exhibit Tattoos & Scrimshaw: The Art of the Sailor, despite concerns from one mother about several erotic depictions of, shall we say, “shore leave.”
CTV News’ coverage eventually became a story of its own after Stephen Colbert picked it up on The Colbert Report, declaring our station “Canada’s whale porn news leader.”
George Clooney reserves table under ‘Mr. Sanchez’
George Clooney is a famously friendly famous person, and he lived up to that reputation when his “Tomorrowland” movie shoot brought him to B.C. this year.
He sent Twitter buzzing one weekend when he casually cozied up to the bar at Joey Burrard in Vancouver, but his most jaw-dropping surprise came when he claimed a table at Minami Restaurant that had been reserved for one “Mr. Sanchez.”
Manager Patrick Rider said the superstar obliged several fans with photographs before heading out, and dubbed it the biggest celebrity encounter the restaurant had seen.
“It’s a big feather in our cap,” he said.
Caught on camera: Brave dogs stand off against cougar
The list wouldn’t be complete without one of the many touching, heartbreaking, infuriating or incredible animal stories of 2013.
Our pick came from Victoria’s Highlands region, where two daring dogs went paw-to-paw with a hungry cougar. YouTube video of the stunning encounter went viral online, eventually getting more than 250,000 views.
The footage shows the dogs, Kovu and Teaka, fearlessly running circles around the wildcat before finally chasing it away.
Related: Read our picks for the most important news stories of 2013
