The top 20 most random things that happened in 2020: Nos. 16-20

The magnitude of importance 2020 played on our lives can only be matched by the sheer randomness of the events that took place within it.

And to make sense of it all is akin to something like herding cats or quantum physics: nearly impossible.

But nevertheless, let’s look back on the most random things that happened in 2020:

•••

20. The streaming revolution

While cutting the cord has been hardly a new revelation, there may have been no more important ally in the struggle against 2020 than streaming.

Seemingly around every corner — or swipe of the app — lay another riveting, watercooler-worthy show to binge.

Who could have expected the country would be so enthralled with the misadventures of big cat zookeeper Joe Exotic and conservationist Carole Baskins in “Tiger King”?

Then, April and May brought us a trip down memory lane — and a ton of great memes — with the release of the Michael Jordan/Chicago Bulls docuseries “The Last Dance.”

“Hamilton” dropped in July. Season two of “The Mandalorian” dazzled home audiences starting in October, while the Princess Diana season of “The Crown” hit in late November.

“The Queen’s Gambit” — which dropped in late October — became Netflix most-watched scripted miniseries ever in just four weeks while sending chess sets flying off the shelves at the holidays.

From “Love is Blind” to “Cheer” to “Some Good News,” steaming content could be its own subset of the randomness of 2020.

•••

19. Perhaps the only streaming service to strike out in 2020: Quibi

Ahh, Quibi. You were here one day and gone the next. Quite literally.

Just six months after the new streaming service launched in April, the Wall Street Journal reported the company would be going under due to a “struggle to resonate” in a crowded marketplace during the pandemic.

“There was no question that keeping us going was not going to have a different outcome, it was just going to spend a whole lot more money without any value to show for it,” founder Jeffrey Katzenberg told Deadline in October.

•••

18. Planters kills off Mr. Peanut, replaces him with Baby Nut

Way back in January of 2020, Planters launched a new campaign leading up to Super Bowl LIV that would eventually see the untimely demise of beloved product mascot Mr. Peanut.

The ad, which featured Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh, was quite literally a cliffhanger, with the trio hanging off the side of a mountain after swerving to avoid an armadillo in the Nutmobile.

A hero to all, Mr. Peanut sacrificed himself to save the other two by electing to let go and fall to his death.

Part two of the series of advertisements saw Snipes and Walsh, along with the likes of Mr. Clean and the Kool-Aid Man at the late Mr. Peanut’s funeral.

But a tear from Kool-Aid Man and a little bit of sunshine brought us a new Planters mascot: Baby Nut.

In August, the company continued the campaign with the emergence of a 21-year-old Peanut Jr.

You literally cannot make this up.

•••

No. 17 Rob Gronkowski wins the 24/7 Championship at WrestleMania 36

By the time the taping of WrestleMania 36 rolled around in March 2020, Rob Gronkowski had been retired from the NFL for a full year.

So, when the WWE came calling, the future Hall of Fame tight end and life-long wrestling fan answered.

Not only did Gronk host WrestleMania 36 — which aired April 4 and 5 — he took away some hardware: the 24/7 Championship.

To this day, the WWE recognizes Gronkowski’s sole reign with the belt as 57 days, the longest period in the company’s history.

Now, instead of smashing opponents into the mat, Gronk smashes footballs into the end zone of Raymond James Stadium as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following his un-retirement in late April.

Ironically, his home stadium would have been the site of WrestleMania 36 had it not been moved to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando amid the pandemic.

#GRONK is in the house!#SmackDown @RobGronkowski pic.twitter.com/9VN6qqUVx1

— WWE (@WWE) March 21, 2020

•••

No. 16 Roger Goodell runs the NFL Draft from his basement

The sting of the NFL Draft scrapping its Las Vegas plans amid concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic was lessoned a bit by the wood-paneled amazingness of Roger Goodell’s basement.

Done virtually for the first — and hopefully last — time, Goodell announced all team selections during the draft from the comfort of mancave in Westchester County, New York, complete with an ever-shrinking jar full of M&Ms.

The workaround ended up showing a more human side of Goodell, softening the public image of the oft-heckled NFL commissioner.