Jimmy Kimmel fell in love with Dildo, and other odd things that happened in 2019
Dildo's two weeks of fame, the backhoe bandits and everything in between
If you had said the host of an internationally loved talk show would be the mayor of a small town in Newfoundland and Labrador by the end of 2019 — you probably would have been asked to lay off the eggnog.
Jimmy Kimmel, the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live, found Dildo on Aug. 2, starting with a segment called "Canada has been hiding their Dildo."
It was one story Newfoundlanders and Labradorians were able to rally behind and laugh about — and it put the province on the map in a way we've never seen before.
What followed was 13 days of late night television — and years of potential tourism success for the region.
Kimmel checked in almost nightly with the people of Dildo, sent security guard and international correspondent Guillermo to help run his campaign and used the Dildo Brewing Company as campaign headquarters.
While Kimmel initially ran for the seat unopposed, rumours of an opponent stirred.
Matt Damon.
Kimmel remained strong in his pursuit of the mayor's chair, holding a press conference on his show. He stood firm on a "missionary" style of addressing taxation, and pointed to the fact that no one else was running for election.
This was more than enough to win over the people of Dildo, The Aug. 15 election was anything but close, and Kimmel was named mayor of the local service district in a landslide vote.
'Newfie' a no-no on The Simpsons
Kimmel's run for mayor wasn't the only time Newfoundland and Labrador made national and international headlines this year.
Back in April, The Simpsons aired an episode set in Canada. The show took digs at many people, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
But one scene about the province rubbed many the wrong way.
While in Canada, Lisa Simpson asked a group of Canadians about people being treated equally in the country.
"Except the Québécois," one Canadian holding a curling broom replied. "And the Newfies. Stupid Newfies."
Following the remark, Ralph Wiggum proceeded to club a stuffed seal and wear it as a hat.
It's not the first time The Simpsons and this province have clashed. Back in 2014, show co-creator Sam Simon voiced his displeasure of Newfoundland and Labrador sealers, offering them $1 million to give up the seal hunt.
The scene in Canada ends with Ralph singing a version of the song, Islander Forever. It was used to take one last dig at Newfoundlanders. But as we'd later find out, the song wasn't the producer's first choice.
Following the airing of the episode, musician Bruce Moss told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Show that Fox had approached him to use his song, The Islander. Moss said he turned down $20,000 from the company, calling the show "morally bankrupt."
"No amount of money would entice me to take part in such an offensive production to our culture and our people," Moss said in April.
From backhoe bandits to a big lottery win
Outside of the national news, there were many local stories in 2019 that made us think.
Like the time in July when St. John's shoppers migrated to Galway to ring in the new Costco. In the first 15 minutes of the store's opening, more than 500 people walked through the doors.
We celebrated when the Newfoundland Growlers were the first professional hockey team in the province to ever win a championship. We hosted a parade and got thousands of pictures taken with the Kelly Cup — which in a twist of irony, wasn't even the real Kelly Cup.
Heather and Steven Gould tied the knot in one of the most Newfoundland ways possible, on Ski-doos at the top of Gros Morne, with an all-white snowsuit for the bride.
How about the time a woman bought lottery tickets using stolen credit cards — and actually won? She was unable to claim her winnings and faced two counts of possessing a stolen credit card and five counts of fraud.
We also can't forget about 'fencegate' in July, when Parks Canada erected a wooden fence which blocked the city's iconic view.The fence lasted for just over a week, costing Parks Canada $65,000.
And how could we talk about the news in 2019 without mentioning the backhoe bandits?
Numerous robberies using heavy equipment made the news this year: from breaking into restaurants and grocery stores to nabbing ATMs, every job was seemingly bigger than the previous one.
In our little corner of the world, like so many other places, there will always be the quirky stories that make us chuckle, smile, and sometimes ask, "why?"
Maybe something like what happened in Dildo could happen in 2020. Just wait until Jimmy Fallon finds out about Blow Me Down.
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