Look, this year has been a long one. In fact, this year feels like it’s been the longest of our lives. The last 9 or so months have been completely dominated by either COVID, US Election news, or The Black Lives Matter movement, and it’s pretty hard to remember anything else. But, a lot of huge things happened in 2020!! Some good, some bad, but all things we shouldn’t forget.
Here are 10 huge things that you probably can’t remember happening in 2020.
Australian Bushfires
Fires began tearing through Australia in September of 2019, but in January 2020 a state of emergency was declared in the country. The devastation was widespread, killing an estimated 1 billion animals and burning 27 million acres.
Prince Harry & Megan Markle leave the Royal Family
Yes, this happened in 2020! It feels like it’s been years since the Royal couple gave up their Royal status, but it was actually just at the start of the year. Since then, they’ve landed in California and signed an exclusive Spotify podcast deal. Interesting moves, indeed.
The passing of Kobe Bryant, his daughter & seven others
Still in January, the world was shaken when basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others aboard a helicopter were killed in a crash. And to think this was when we were certain 2020 couldn’t get any worse…
The United Kingdom finalized Brexit
Again in January of 2020, the United Kingdom finalized its departure from the EU. ‘Brexit’ was (and still is) a hugely controversial issue, and interestingly enough, the transition period of the UK leaving the EU is supposed to wrap up on December 31st, 2020.
Parasite cleaned up at The Academy Awards
Normally, we wouldn’t include something from the Academy Awards on a list of the biggest news stories, but this one is important. Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho, is the first foreign-language film to win Best Picture at the Oscars. It went even further, winning Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Film, to lead the night with four trophies. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a must-watch.
Kim Jong Un was dead…then he wasn’t
The year was already pretty wild, then out of the blue in April it was reported that Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, had died. Or was dying. Or was not doing too well. The story kept changing (big surprise) and then all of a sudden he was back doing dictator stuff and the world moved on.
Murder Hornets
There are few things more 2020 than the term ‘murder hornets’. These terrifying insects were believed to have come from Asia but began popping up in Washington State and near the British Columbia border. We’re going to keep pretending that these don’t exist simply because we enjoy getting eight hours of sleep each night.
The Beirut Explosion
On August 4th, 3,750 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in Lebanon’s capital, killing 190 people and injuring more. Videos and photos of the scale and destruction dominated the news cycle for days, but in the insanity of 2020, it was lost in the shuffle of a lot of western media.
A teenager hacked major Twitter accounts in a Bitcoin scam
This one really flew under the radar, but Twitter users might remember some of the biggest accounts out there posting what ended up being a major Bitcoin scam in July. We’re talking Kanye West, Bill Gates, Joe Biden, Elon Musk and more all being hacked on the same day. The culprit? A 17-year-old hacker from Florida and some of his pals.
The passing of Alex Trebek
The Canadian host of Jeopardy passed away in November at the age of 80 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He hosted Jeopardy for an insane 37 seasons and is widely regarded as one of the best TV hosts of all time.
Well, that’s not all of the huge things that happened in 2020, but when you take out COVID, Trump vs. Biden, and the BLM movement, these are definitely some of the biggest.
Here’s hoping 2021 gets a little more normal, folks!
