What wasn’t on our 2025 bingo card?
- The Mary Word
- 14 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Kenzie Eyles
Let’s be real, 2025 has been full of stuff no one saw coming. From apps getting banned to unexpected celebrity news, it’s been one curveball after another. Here are a few things that definitely weren’t on our 2025 bingo card (I can’t do everything, or this will be 100 pages long).
1. TikTok shut down
Everyone joked it would happen, but when the U.S. really banned TikTok halfway through the year, the internet went crazy.
Creators were panicking, people were trying to move to Reels and YouTube Shorts, and VPN tutorials were suddenly everywhere. It’s weird seeing one of the biggest apps in the world just disappear overnight.
2. The Louvre getting robbed
This one felt like something straight out of a movie. A group of thieves somehow pulled off a heist at the Louvre in Paris, stealing rare jewels and vanishing before anyone even realised what was happening.
However, as of the 28th of October, two suspects were taken into custody, found at international airports attempting to get out of the country. Two of the thieves out of the four are still free, while the jewels remain missing.
3. AI-generated minister
A new artificially-generated minister has given its inaugural address to Albania's parliament, defending its role as "not here to replace people, but to help them".
This is unreal, an AI bot has taken a position of power, making the opposition in Albania fear the ideas it (Diella) may bring.
4. The Descendants x Zombies tour
Disney went all in on nostalgia this year with the Descendants x Zombies live tour. No one expected those two worlds to mix, but it actually worked. Kids loved it, older fans were reliving childhood memories, and TikTok was full of people ranking the performances.
However, with the excitement, controversy arose, many believing the tour should have left out the original songs from Descendants 1-3 due to the passing of Cameron Boyce, the actor who played Carlos.
5. Labubu craze
Labubus are the new must-have for 2025. You may remember the fidget spinner or slime years in primary school if you’re in the senior years, labubus are the equivalent.
The doll was designed a decade ago by Kasing Lung, a Hong Kong-born artist. Gone viral on the internet and a word we can’t go a day without hearing.
6. Billie Eilish Grammys
As we all know, Billie Eilish released Hit Me Hard and Soft, her third studio album in 2024, nominated for many Grammys in 2025.
Everyone thought she would win Best Album, but she shockingly lost the award to Beyoncé for Cowboy Carter, leaving Billie in tears and all her fans upset alongside her.
This only proved the idea that the Grammys are rigged for media response. If Billie had won, there would have been congratulations and nothing more, but Beyoncé winning brought angry fans to the surface, giving more attention to the award show and therefore money through increased publicity.
I did write an article about this. Here is the link if you want more information on the Scammys - https://www.themaryword.com/post/the-2025-scammy-s-proof-the-grammys-are-rigged
7. Natalie Reynolds
And finally, Natalie Reynolds.
If you have TikTok, you probably know of Natalie Reynolds, known for “copying” the videos of creators such as Brooke Monk. A lot of people think she’s just “ragebaiting”, but who knows. To be fair, her most recent content is pretty original, even giving credit for costume inspiration and design in her Halloween series.
Although her commenting on her own TikToks (complimenting herself) make us think it's all for attention.
If anything, 2025 has been the year of pop culture shocks, the kind no one could’ve seen coming. From apps disappearing to impressive thefts, it’s been unpredictable from start to finish. With only two months left, all we can really do is wait and see what’s next… and hope the last few surprises of the year are good ones.
References:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-19/ai-generated-minister-addresses-albanian-parliament/105791708