Chicago's most viral headlines of 2024

CHICAGO (CBS) — Insects emerged from the ground, the moon eclipsed the sun, a purse full of cereal hung on a street sign and Chicago fell in love with a rodent-shaped hole. 

Here are 2024's most viral Chicago headlines. 

Chicago's beloved "rat hole" 

Perhaps the most viral story of the year revolved around a rodent-shaped hole on Chicago's North Side, which gained national attention. 

The Chicago "rat hole" was a rodent-shaped indentation in the concrete in front of a blond brick three-flat building at 1918 W. Roscoe St., between Wolcott and Damen avenues in Roscoe Village. It might have been the imprint of a rat, or it might have been a squirrel.

It's legacy lives on through its devoted fans. 

Believe it or not... Rathole Music Fest was held at Bourbon on Division, at 2050 W. Division St.—2.75 miles south of where the rat hole had been located.  

But rest assured, the rat hole has not been jackhammered out of existence. Crews removed and preserved the square of sidewalk with the famous rat hole intact.  

"Magically suspicious" Lucky Charms purse 

A purse filled with cereal grabbed the attention of Chicagoans for a few memorable days in September. Some even said it had "rat hole" level attraction.

A clear purse filled with Lucky Charms cereal was spotted on the corner of Addison Street and Lawndale Avenue in Avondale in September.

On September 7, Sam Greszes posted a photo of the bag on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying "If someone lost a bag fulla lucky charms at the corner of Addison and Lawndale lmk, I found it."  The bag was hanging on a pole outside a muffler shop.

The picture was viewed over 1 million times.

In just a few days, the purse disappeared and was never seen again. 

Lil Jon steals show at Chicago's DNC moment

Social media provided a front-row seat to the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 

From surprise celebrity appearances to one-line zingers, the DNC created a decent amount of online chatter. Social media influencers were invited and helped elevate the memorable moments. 

Georgia's roll call, featuring a live performance by Lil Jon, stole the show. The moment flooded social media feeds and was trending on Google. In an email, convention organizers said the roll call was such a hit that they released the playlist.  

DNC speeches went viral, including one from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

"Take it from an actual billionaire, Trump is rich in only one thing: stupidity," Pritzker said during his speech, in a rare reference to the governor's wealth.

Cicadas take over Chicago 

Back in May, some new residents emerged in the Chicago area. 

Cicadas returned to Illinois in May, and their emergence got mixed reviews. CBS News Chicago's meteorologist tracked the soil temperatures and counted down the days until the insects arrived. 

The insects brought loud noises, crunchy outdoor surfaces, and, for some brave people, new recipes.  

A local craft brewery, Noon Whistle Brewing, shared the culinary delights of cicadas – combined with Chicago's favorite spirit, Jeppson's Malört. The brewery offered its exclusive locally-harvested Cicada-Infuesed Malört at its Lombard brewpub, at 800 E. Roosevelt Rd. in Lombard.

"Emergence cookies" also went viral. It was a crunchy take on a classic cookie...

Look-alike contest comes to Chicago 

The look-alike contest fad popped out throughout the country, ending the year with some entertaining viral content. 

In November, posters touting an apparently unauthorized Jeremy Allen White look-alike competition in Humboldt Park. White has won multiple Emmy Awards and the Golden Globe for his starring role in the Chicago-based show "The Bear." 

The competition winner will allegedly win a "$50 cash prize + some cigarettes." 

The event followed a Timothée Chalamet look-alike contest in New York. 

Chappell Roan crowd takes over Lollapalooza 

Chappell Roan's sold-out Lollapalooza after-show at The Vic Theatre in Lakeview was one of the hottest tickets in town—and on The Wieners Circle got in on the fun.

The iconic hot dog stand, at 2622 N. Clark St. in Lincoln Park, gave a prize bag to anyone who ordered a "Chappell" or "Hot-to-Go" dog.

Roan may have made history at Lollapalooza. Her performance brought possibly the largest crowd in the concert's history. 

Pitchfork leaves Chicago 

This year brought a sad update for Chicago music lovers. 

After 19 years in the city, Pitchfork Music Festival will not be held in Chicago next year, organizers announced. 

Organizers posted on social media that they are "deeply grateful to the City of Chicago."

"As the music festival landscape continues to evolve rapidly, we have made the difficult decision not to host Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago in 2025," the post stated. 

Organizers said they will continue to produce events next year, but did not reveal a new location. 

The festival in Chicago's Union Park was known for featuring artists on their way to stardom. Pitchfork brought plenty of music's brightest and most critically-acclaimed stars to the area, including Beyoncé, The Roots, Erykah Badu, Mitski, Phoebe Bridgers and St. Vincent in recent years.

Eclipse, Northern Lights visible over Chicago 

Eyes were on the sky this year with two unique happens over the city. 

In early April, Chicagoans flocked to Carbondale, Illinois, to view the solar eclipse. In Chicago, the much-needed protective eclipse glasses sold out and viewing parties popped up around the city, including at the Adler Planetarium. 

Although it only lasted 4 minutes and 8 seconds, it was unforgettable. 

Then in October, the Northern Lights were visible in many suburban areas.   

Photos captured of the glowing red and green sky flooded social media feeds and the CBS News Chicago website. A rare severe geomagnetic storm watch from space meant some Chicago area residents got a chance to see the northern lights. 

Check out some of the northern lights highlights here.

Neighbors get a hoot out of Lincoln Park's viral owls

Two great horned owls, known by some as the "rockstars of the neighborhood," gained attention from neighbors and local experts in Lincoln Park in March. 

Neighbors walking through the park gathered to see the owls, and expert bird watchers brought bird-watching equipment. social media followed along, with bird watchers from all over the country noticing the local birds. 

Unfortunately, the owl family died suddenly. Months later, the Head Veterinarian at the DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center found that rodenticide toxicosis was the cause of death for all three owls, meaning they ate rodents that had ingested rat poison, and ended up poisoned as well.

The Chicago Bird Alliance said it recently passed a policy calling for reducing the use of anticoagulant rodenticides. Their advocacy team has met with the city and other stakeholders to discuss alternatives to rat poison.   

Endangered caracal wild cat spotted 

In October, a video you had to see to believe went viral. A video of the capture of a wild cat in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates was viewed over 1.8 million times. 

Animal control officers captured the caracal after it was first spotted in a homeowner's backyard.

A caracal is a rare find in Illinois, or just about anywhere in the United States. Caracals are native to Africa and Asia.  

The cat was taken to Valley of the Kings Sanctuary and Retreat, a wildlife sanctuary in Wisconsin, where it will spend the rest of its life.   

Chicago's Beer Igloo 

A man in Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood made the most of the city's first snowfall of the season back in November. 

A photo of a snow-made Old Style beer igloo posted on X, formally known as Twitter, has been viewed over 1.4 million times.

One fan of the Chicago cooler post commented, "Nice job but you forgot the Malort!" Another said, "Get this man an Italian beef." 

He shared an update hours later saying, "Melted faster than the Bears playoff chances."   

Hearing loud pops during the cold snap? It could be a "frost quake"

It's a loud bang, a jolt, shaking ground, something that seems like a mini-earthquake.

The year started with Facebook videos posted of something called a "frost quake." Illinois state climatologist Trent Ford explained this phenomena is called "cryoseism" and is not dangerous. 

"We need the wet conditions - near-saturated conditions - and then we need that cold spell to 'poof' really quickly," said Ford. "When the soils are frozen, and the water within them freezes and expands - because water expands as it freezes - what that can do is actually crack or fracture that frozen ground. And that can experience of either small shaking – in some cases, loud booms."  

You can read more here. 

Record-setting tornadoes

July brought more than 40 tornadoes to the Chicago area over two days. Shocking video and photos of the extensive damage circulated social media. 

This single-day total of 32 tornadoes for July 15 beat a record of 22 tornadoes on June 30, 2014. Meanwhile, a total of nine were confirmed from the first round of storms on July 14.

One of the tornadoes on July 15, an EF-1, hit the Near West Side of Chicago and far western portions of the Loop. A tornado ranking at least EF-2 also hit near Channahon, a rarity for the Chicago area, and another EF-1 hit the Bristol and Oswego areas in Kendall County.   

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle even issued a disaster proclamation due to the damage left behind. 

Temu package mystery 

A family from the western suburbs reached out to CBS News Chicago after trucks had been delivering a nonstop stream of packages from Temu to their home. The mystery: they had not ordered anything.

They received 20 different military hats, cameras, knives, a crawfish trap, a belt with a golden buckle shaped like a car, and about 30 fishing vests for which he never asked.  

After dealing with customer service's suggestions of reporting tracking numbers, the mystery continued. 

The family shared they planned to donate the unwanted items. 

The "rattiest city" award goes to...

Chicago hit a big milestone this year, and it's not a crowd-pleaser. 

For the 10th year in a row, Chicago was ranked as the "rattiest city" in America by pest control company Orkin. The city has held the title since Orkin first created the list. 

In 2024, Los Angeles took second place and New York ranked third. The two cities have been among the top three rattiest cities in the U.S. since 2017.

Bill Murray's favorite painting

A social media clip of a 2014 video of actor Bill Murray talking about a painting that he said saved his life recently got the attention of CBS News Chicago.  

Murray said it was early on in his career and he was feeling hopeless after a performance. The actor said seeing "The Song of the Lark" helped him through a difficult time. 

CBS News Chicago took a look into the painting, here's more.  Check out the painting at The Art Institute of Chicago. 

In:
• Cicadas
• Chicago
• Democratic National Convention
• Eclipse
• Lollapalooza
• Tornado