December 31 – We at Open All Night spent all year covering celebrity doings, and sometimes we don’t get it, even when we’re there. So now that 2004 is a wrap, here are some mysteries we have yet to solve.

What does Tom Cruise have to do with the 2004 Summer Olympics? He ran around L.A.'s Dodger Stadium with the Olympic torch in June. Related: why does Tom run like a girl?

What did Ben Affleck have to do with the Democratic presidential campaign? We all thought the Kerry daughters were hot, but we didn’t travel around the country wearing flags and giving speeches in small towns. Related: what do celebrities in general have to do with this whole politics thing? Does anyone vote for a candidate because Leonardo DiCaprio or P. Diddy supports him or her? Readers: if you cast your votes based on celebrity endorsements, please e-mail us and explain. We really do want to understand.

Why did a Washington, D.C.-based African ambassadors’ spouses association honor Michael Jackson for his humanitarian work? Oh, wait, this was on April Fool’s day!

Why was pop singer Ricky Martin invited to the United Nations to speak to diplomats about the evils of child sexual tourism? “I want to see abolition of this slavery”, Martin said. Martin heads a foundation aimed at eliminating child exploitation. Related: why did James Brown, Drew Barrymore and Jermaine Jackson also address the U.N. this year?

Are latin pop singer Enrique Iglesias and sort-of tennis pro Anna Kournikova married or not? Related: why do we care? Also related: are Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey/Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt/Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony splitting up/having a baby/still together?

A few things we saw this year but never thought we would: Jennifer Lopez discussed her career highlights with James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio. Pamela Anderson became a novelist. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s achievements were recognized with their very own star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Then they went off to college.