As the year comes to a close, we naturally look back at all the things that happened. What did people do? What were the attitudes that defined our year? Sure you could look up studies done by anthropologists or read the scientific innovations from this year. But a surefire way to get at the heart of what 2023 was like for most of us is by looking through the insane events that happened at Taco Bell.

Taco Bell is the perfect microcosm of the human condition. People act out, get litigious, and get emotional. Everyone who has been to Taco Bell at 2 am on a weekend knows this in their bones. The year started with a bang when news of rat poison found in a Tco Bell customer's food went viral. Then a handgun was found wrapped in a quesadilla during a traffic stop in Mississippi. Then Taco Bell started suing other restaurants that used the phrase “Taco Tuesday” in their marketing. We had credit card scandals, shootouts for being given the wrong change, and a Metaverse wedding.

But nothing could top the news a couple of weeks ago when a worker reported that there was a co-worker's questionable party in the restaurant and that HR did nothing about it. You could sum up 2023 completely in that sentence alone. So scroll down memory lane and learn why this was the year of Taco Bell.