'Seusspicious' passenger, hippo swallows toddler, big hats: This week's heartwarming, unusual headlines

To a Grinchy-looking passenger in the HOV lane to a hippo partially swallowing a toddler, there was no shortage of intriguing tales this week. Here are some of our favorite heartwarming and unusual stories from Dec. 10-16 that have helped make our days a little brighter - or at least, more interesting: 

1. 'Seusspicious-looking' passenger causes HOV driver to be cited: A "Seusspicious-looking" passenger was caught in the HOV lane on I-10 in the Phoenix area end authorities are warning inflatable holiday decorations don't count as another person in your car.

2. Kentucky woman wins $175K jackpot during white elephant gift exchange at company holiday party: Lori Janes was initially disappointed when someone at her office holiday party "stole" a $25 TJ Maxx gift card during their white elephant gift exchange. Instead, she got $25 worth of lottery scratch-off tickets — and ended up winning $175,000!

3. Big hat company, Noggin Boss, is based in Phoenix and thriving after NFL feature: Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson wore one of the big hats during a post-game interview last month, and it went viral. Since then, orders have spiked by 2,000%.

4. ‘He’s waiting for you’: Ohio couple, both 100 and married for 79 years, die less than a day apart: June and Hubert Malicote had a love for the ages and not even death would keep them apart.

5. Hippo swallows half of 2-year-old’s body before spitting him out: A 2-year-old boy miraculously survived a hippopotamus attack in Uganda after the animal swallowed half his body.

6. 2 Georgia men wrongfully convicted of murder 25 years ago enjoy their first day of freedom: Sentenced to life in prison for a murder they didn't commit. Now more than 2 decades later, two Floyd County men are free.

7. Parents file lawsuit saying their kids are addicted to Fortnite: Parents say their kids are so addicted that they don't take care of regular everyday hygiene such as showering.

8. 'Survivor 43' winner Mike Gabler donates $1M prize to veterans: 'There are people who need the money more': After his near-unanimous win on season 43 of "Survivor," heart valve specialist Mike Gabler surprised the case by saying he was going to donate the $1 million prize to veterans. "We're going to save lives and do something good."

9. Pentagon has received 'several hundred' new UFO sighting reports: A new Pentagon office set up to track reports of unidentified flying objects has received "several hundreds" of new reports, but no evidence so far of alien life.

10. Here were Americans' most ordered foods of 2022, according to Grubhub: According to the food delivery service Grubhub, Denver ranked No. 1 for the most early-bird orders, while Boston placed the most late-night orders.