Purchasing a snowplow transforms Homer into a new man. Mr. Burns' laziest employee suddenly becomes an ambitious self-starter who buys ad time on local television at 3:17 A.M (prime viewing hours, Homer gingerly volunteers, for everyone from alcoholics to the unemployable to garden-variety angry loners) and makes a homemade commercial costarring his family.

The Andromeda Initiative was initially rejected as a human-driven boondoggle by many asari investors, and the construction of the Leusinia was met with ridicule. However, the efforts drew the attention of several Matriarchs who had assisted in previous attempts to send crewed missions to Andromeda, and their impassioned extranet addresses helped turn the tide of public opinion.

Also in 2001, the bizarre but popular subgenre of wingfic appeared within the NSYNC fandom—these stories, characterized by someone growing at least one wing, spread to other slash fandoms before dying away in 2003.

59 suffered a relapse, which culminated in exitus of 25 patients.