Mary Ann Chastain / AP
There are days when you flip on your television or log on to the web and raise your eyebrows: Who is this person, and what did they do to pave their way into the spotlight? Behold 2010’s most fleeting celebrities.
Sometimes, it’s a politician pleading for his own action figure. Then, it’s an editor hanging out at a bar for a high-profile edition of ‘finders, keepers’. Other times, it’s a seafaring creature helping gamblers place their bets.
Yet no matter how they met their fame, 2010 was chock full of its share of fleeting celebrities. Let us take a minute to recall, and honor.
Take the 2010 primaries. Once an unemployed veteran facing a criminal charge, one political rookie became a bona-fide darkhorse by winning his state’s Democratic primary.
If the election failed to top your summer priorities, the World Cup did. For those struggling to pick the 2010 tournament winners, the best source for bookies was not human. The picks belonged to an octopus.
Lacking similar superpowers to achieve your fame? Sometimes, it’s all about being in the right place at the right time. That situation brought one tech editor to forefront of Apple’s public ire.
Curious as to who else made this year’s cut? See all of the Top 10 Fleeting Celebrities at TIME.com.