January 15 is National Hat Day - the day set aside to pay a tribute to one of the most needed human "inventions" - the hat. Hats may be worn for safety and protection, religious reasons, ceremonial reasons, warmth or fashion. In the Middle Ages, hats were an indicator of social status. Structured hats for women began to be worn in the late 16th century. Millinery is the designing and manufacture of hats, the term “milliner” derived from the city of Milan, Italy. The best quality hats were made in Milan in the 18th century. 
To observe National Hat Day at Freaking News, design hats with any unusual shapes, or from any unusual elements. Here's some good examples. Many thanks to SteveGSQ for the themepost.

The modern washing machine is less than 200 years old, having been invented in the 1850s. Ancient peoples cleaned their clothes by pounding them on rocks and washing the dirt away in local streams. By the early 1800s a washing machine was invented in France, called the Ventilator. It was a barrel-shaped metal drum with holes that was turned by hand over a fire. 
Photoshop this photo of "Vintage Washing Machine" any way you wish. (image credit: Øyvind Holmstad)

January 8, 2018 marked the 83rd birthday of The King of Rock and Roll - Elvis Presley. Even nowadays he remains the most talked about entertainer and performer of the 20th century. From his swaying hips to great songs, Elvis had the right stuff to excite the crowds and build a following.  
Make Elvis Presley impersonators out of celebrities, politicians, any characters from works of art, or even animals. PLEASE NOTE: LIMIT 3 ENTRIES PER PLAYER. Many thanks to funkwood  for the themepost.

Nicolas Cage, one of the most recognizable actors of all time with worldwide box office receipts of over $4.76 billion worldwide, will be celebrating his 55th birthday on January 7. His resume is littered with classic crowd-pleasers such as The Rock, Con Air and Face/Off as well as acclaimed films such as Leaving Las Vegas, Raising Arizona and Adaptation. Cage is also know as cinema’s King Of Craziness and an eccentric, once sleeping in Dracula's castle, accidentally buying a stolen Tyrannosaurus skull for $276,000, and having a naked home intruder at the foot of his bed, wearing his leather jacket and eating a fudgsicle as just a few examples.  
To celebrate the 55th birthday of Nicolas Cage, photoshop him any way you wish. PLEASE NOTE: LIMIT 3 ENTRIES PER PLAYER.

The Year 2019 is the Year of the Pig. According to Chinese astrology, the animal of Chinese New Year 2019 is the Earth Pig and this will be a lucky year for those who, in their manners or behavior, resemble that animal. 
To welcome the upcoming Year of the Pig, photoshop pigs any way you wish. Some examples are - merge pigs with people and other animals, put pigs into world events, movies and paintings, etc. PLEASE NOTE: LIMIT 3 ENTRIES PER PLAYER.

Numerology is a system that describes how numbers affect events and people's lives. As per numerology, 2019 is a 12 Universal Year ( 2+0+1+9=12 ). Number 12 is a unique and highly creative number that symbolizes education on all levels. 12 can be reduced to the single-digit root number 3, because 1 plus 2 = 3. The number 3 symbolizes happiness, creativity, and communication, inviting you to express yourself through every medium you can imagine. We hope 2019 will bring the most positive changes to your lives! 
To welcome the New Year 2019 "in good shape", photoshop numbers 2019 into anything. Some examples are - make certain objects or animals shaped like numbers (2, 0, 1, and 9) standing together making the number 2019; blend the number 2019 into any movies, paintings, objects or animals, etc. PLEASE NOTE: LIMIT 3 ENTRIES PER PLAYER. Many thanks to Denlig for the themepost, Happy Neck Year 2016 .

Today we are going to have an "Out of Bounds" (OOB) type of contest very well known in the Photoshop world. The Out of Bounds effect is a cool way to turn an ordinary photo into an amazing 3D image that makes it look like your subject is coming right out of the frame.
In this contest you are asked to create Out of Bounds images by making part(s) of a picture extend beyond its boundaries / frames. As long as it's OOB photoshopping you can use any source images - photos, paintings, movie posters, etc. PLEASE NOTE: LIMIT 3 ENTRIES PER PLAYER. Many thanks to Hobbit90 for the themepost.