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13 parade floats you won’t see on TV

A very Lily Thanksgiving Day parade

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November 27, 2019 at 8:07 p.m. EST

Skip the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade this year. We’d like to float our own version by you. (Sorry, Snoopy. You’re still a good boy.) Here’s a procession that celebrates the achievements of women in 2019.

Two for the money

The talented U.S. women’s national soccer team took home the championship World Cup title, making that two-in-a-row for them, following up their 2015 win. Along the way, Megan Rapinoe and the team energized the nation — and sparked debates about equal pay in sports.

A massive discovery

After years of speculation, the first image of a supermassive black hole was released and well, it looks like … a black hole. The capture of the image was made possible by Katie Bouman, a postdoctoral student at MIT who discovered one of the necessary algorithms.

Supergirl

Sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg has become the face of climate activism and, as a result, a constant in the news cycle. The Swedish teen traveled two weeks by sailboat to speak at the U.N. Climate Action Summit, led school climate strikes and most recently declined a prestigious honor because, as she put it, “The climate doesn’t need awards.”

‘Good as hell’

Like everyone else, we’re 100 percent obsessed with Lizzo and her inspiring, feel-good tunes. The rising star has been on tour this year, dropped a new album and performed an instantly iconic Tiny Desk concert at NPR.

Toys will be toys

With their androgynous features, simple clothing and customizable hair, Mattel’s new line of gender-neutral dolls is “for everyone.”

A (flea) bag of tricks

Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s “Fleabag” returned with a second season that was both hilarious and heartbreaking. With the addition of Andrew Scott as a new, forbidden love interest, the Amazon Prime show won six Emmys – and had many fans wondering just how strict Catholic vows of celibacy are.

Xoxo, VSCO Girl

Scrunchies, crocs, a puca shell choker. No, this isn’t a “'90s, 2k and today”-themed costume party. It’s the unofficial uniform of VSCO girls. Made famous on TikTok, VSCO girls are the Internet trend we love to hate. Or just genuinely love.

Neat and tidy

Do your holiday decorations "spark joy”? This year, Marie Kondo-ing has become a verb and a far-reaching sensation. She’s also launched her own line of houseware including a $75 tuning fork and a $175 countertop compost bin.

Emoji for all

Unicode released a new batch of emoji, creating gender-neutral options for dozens of human characters and emoji representing disabled people.

In memoriam

Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison’s trailblazing stories gave African American women a voice in literature. She has been described by former president Barack Obama as “one of our nation’s most distinguished storytellers.” She died in August.

A little late is better than never

A Little Late with Lilly Singh” became the only late-night talk-show hosted by a woman currently on air. Singh was a YouTube comedy star before being picked up by NBC for her own show and is the first woman of color to have a late-night show.

(Another) royal baby

This spring, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. The youngest royal is seventh in line for the throne and the first multi-race English royal in centuries. Life for his mother, however, has been no fairy tale.

A routine to flip out over

Katelyn Ohashi’s jaw-dropping floor routine landed her a perfect 10 and a moment in the Internet spotlight. The UCLA gymnast’s dance went viral on social media.