Our year-in-review special looks back at the wacky, weird, and wondrous stories of 2014.

Tragic accessory
An Oklahoma company, ProTecht, developed a bulletproof Bodyguard Blanket to protect children during school shootings. The company hopes to defray the cost, about $1,000 each, with bulk-buy partnerships between schools and nonprofits.

Deep in the heart of Texas
Although they knew that the origin of their Austin, Texas, PR company’s name, Strange Fruit, was a poem and a 1939 Billie Holiday song about lynchings of black men in the U.S. South, owners Mary Mickel and Ali Slutsky thought “it wouldn’t be top of mind in the public consciousness.” After national publicity and protests, though, they “now know we were naive to think that”, as they wrote in a release explaining that the company’s new name will be Perennial Public Relations.

Fear of the known
The Chapman University Survey on American Fears, compiled from a nationally representative sample of 2,500 U.S. adults, found that as many Americans believe in Bigfoot as say they are sure the universe began with the Big Bang. Also, more than 40 percent of Americans believe in UFOs, a higher percentage than those who believe in natural selection or that the Earth is more than four billion years old.

Party animals
After a San Diego State University “take back the night” march in November was reportedly interrupted by fraternity members waving sex toys, shouting obscenities, and throwing eggs, leaders of four fraternity groups met with school administrators and indefinitely suspended campus socializing events.

Boob suit
“On a side note, she had wonderful breasts.”—New York City photographer Allen Henson about a model who accompanied him to the top of the Empire State Building, where he took topless photos of her. Management for the Empire State Building, in response, filed a $1-million lawsuit against the 30-year-old, saying the shoot damaged the iconic landmark’s “reputation as a safe and secure family-friendly tourist attraction”