The dream of a single mRNA shot that can protect against multiple diseases is much closer now; mRNA also has applications in the fight against cancer. 10 Good Things That Happened In 2020 Cameron // Middays December 21st, 2020 Share. Three words: “Hamilton” the movie. 32. 12. And take a moment to thank the nerds who came up with complex concepts like packet switching and Voice over IP in the 20th century, knowing that one day it may provide your only link to the outside world. 14. We can be proud of the fact that they were responsible, masked, non-superspreader events. Melbourne, Detroit, Portland: They're all on board with the Paris-style plan for "15-minute cities" where that's how long it takes to reach all the basic stuff you need on foot, on bike or via transit. By Ali Pantony. Here's a list of good things that happened in 2020. The year 2020 was unprecedented and challenging for people of all ages around the world. That's not all. 48. We realized how much we love and need sports and its ability to unite us. (Jury selection is just getting started. Because of the mild weather, a larger than usual crowd of people visiting from all over the world is expected to watch the ball drop. Taylor Swift dropped a surprise of her own — her eighth and possibly best ever studio album. Health care workers and essential workers. Against all odds, Colorado has seen a few positive changes in 2020. 7 wins that gave us hope for the environment in 2020. 2. Ashley Graham, Jenna Dewan, Anderson Cooper and more stars welcomed the most adorable babies. It wasn't just the pandemic: a similar decline was seen in 2019. The events you won't believe actually happened this year. A countrywide coalition of mayors aren't waiting, setting up pilot UBI projects in towns like Stockton, California. Turns out that high levels of public trust in leadership are what matters when it comes to battling a pandemic. The post-pandemic implications are huge. The Rock pulled off his own gates! We're using cookies to improve your experience. Another notable thing about that list of countries most resilient to COVID? 20 good things that happened in 2020 2020-12-17. Late night talk show hosts continued to bring the funny from their homes, with adorable special guests — their kids. We all know how awful 2020 has been. Despite what some office-loving managers might have expected, the sky did not fall. The loss of more than 322,000 American lives is too much to bear, as is the mortality rate reaching 3,000 in a day. Red states and blue alike legalized cannabis at an unprecedented clip. As traffic dropped everywhere, so did pollution. Angela Merkel in Germany and Sanna Marin in Finland also won praise for their early responses. Beyoncé dropped some fierce surprises, like her Juneteenth track “Black Parade” and for her visual album, "Black Is King.“. But given that Fauci and other experts once cautioned we may not even see a vaccine next year, the fact that healthcare workers are getting their shots in December is cause for celebration. The names of governors who allowed superspreader events like Sturgis to go ahead will live in infamy. That week Gov. Trudeau to speak with U.S. President Biden on Friday: WH. All of these things can be true at once: A deadly pandemic is hardly the best way to cut humanity's dangerous climate change-causing output of CO2; emissions fell by a record seven percent in 2020; they are very likely to rebound in 2021 and beyond if we don't take further action. Not that we expected anything less, but still, we didn't quite understand how bizarre it would get. Times are tough, but there’s always room for some good news. It seems unlikely that the number of work-from-homers will ever drop into single-digit percentages again. For the first time ever, the Academy Award for best picture went to an international feature film: "Parasite. Barcelona just announced similar plans. ), In the meantime, we can take heart from the sheer size of the mass movement it sparked, which was estimated as the largest in U.S. history — even in the middle of a pandemic. 49. The COVID-19 pandemic killed more than 1.7 million people worldwide, an undeniable and at least partly avoidable tragedy. 10 Good(ish) Things That Happened in 2020. (A previous mission fell at the last hurdle, delivering only a handful of dust). It really does not feel like a moment to see the glass as half full or make lemonade out of lemons. Solar and wind power is now significantly cheaper than coal across most of the planet. Out of activism comes changes for the better. Such protections are working: The UN recently announced that the amount of large fish in the formerly-overfished Mediterranean and Black Sea has doubled in the last two years. Restaurants got awesomely creative to enforce social distancing including pool noodle hats, bumper boats and dapper mannequin guests. is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. We went without hugs and parties and family gatherings for months on end, all to reduce asymptomatic spread and protect the lives of vulnerable people we'd never met. Out of coronavirus comes creativity. In 2020, BP declared we've reached peak oil already, and that it expects demand to drop by 50 percent in the next two decades. In other words, the Universal Basic Income that Andrew Yang talked up in his quixotic presidential campaign came close to being a reality faster than anyone expected. But if 2020 is to be treated as a sentient being, then it should also be applauded. 20 Good And Bad Things That Happened Due To The Pandemic In 2020. Mashable, MashBash and Mashable House are among the federally registered trademarks of Ziff Davis, LLC and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission. 21. Absolutely. That's right, I said what I said. Humanity was confronted by a pandemic that altered the way we live in unimaginable ways. Newsletters. And an exceptionally beautiful autumnal spectacle is definitely one of the good things that happened in 2020. Human ingenuity and tenacity brought some astounding breakthroughs. Sections Today's Weather The year 2020 has seen its fair share of major historic events in a little over three months — including the acquittal of President Donald Trump in an impeachment trial, the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, and the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Second-place Taiwan also has a female president, Tsai Ing-wen. Daniel Pockett / Getty Images In conclusion, time isn't real. And the simple fact of less traffic meant fewer animals killed by cars. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / Getty Images Take me back to a … Globally, 10 percent of all cars sold in 2020 were EVs — a 28 percent increase on 2019. A band called Avenue Beat even made a song about how much 2020 sucks. Most local GOP officials resisted Trump's efforts to roll back the results; Trump-appointed judges threw his cases out of court. Many are struggling. 42. 3 soldiers dead after military helicopter crashes in upstate New York. The situation looked dire in March and April, as the pandemic froze economic activity around the world. From the start of the pandemic through now, clear bipartisan majorities in the U.S. favor mask mandates and social distancing, even though we didn't know what that was before March. Some 138 large financial institutions have now declared they will not provide funding or insurance for this dirtiest of fossil fuels. Apr 30, 2020 Impeachments. Sure, your home Wi-Fi may not always be able to handle the load of everyone online at once. Amazon introduced fun new boxes that can be turned into a cat fort or robot costume. This is not meant to minimize the harsh reality of an incredibly difficult year. Restaurants shared their secret recipes so we could make them at home. We can all agree it's not been a vintage year, exactly, but there have been some reasons to be cheerful along the way. They may have saved 1.9 million lives. Being stuck in our homes didn't mean that humanity had to stop exploring the heavens. Puzzles and board games became cool again and offered a much-needed break from our screens. 47. John Krasinski made good news go viral with the YouTube series “Some Good News.”. Bike trails became one of the few places in the country that were open. And all that data from the accelerated effort will have knock-on effects. But despite the struggles of 2020, good things that happened can be found if we take a step back and look for them. By Bess Kalb. 20 things you forgot happened in 2020, because tbh, the whole year's been a bit of a blur. We got to watch football greats Tom Brady and Peyton Manning play golf with golf greats Phil Mickleson and Tiger Woods in "The Match" for COVID-19 relief. 44. But believe it or not, 2020 wasn't all bad. Of all good things to happen in 2020, this was arguably the best for us all. The year 2020 was unprecedented and challenging for people of all ages around the world. The mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer, with an assist from a little-known German biotech company, arrived with a speed and success rate (both around 95 percent effective) beyond our wildest dreams. By Ryanne Co March 25, 2020. But while this year seems especially hard, there are silver linings. Part of the reason for declining oil demand this year is the (quietly) roaring success of electric vehicles. Bid farewell to this dumpster fire of a year by focusing on these small moments of joy. As well as protecting animals, we also ate fewer of them. How it all shakes out in 2021 is anyone's guess, but a number of tech firms like Twitter have already announced their employees have the option to work from home forever. 11. Some might say that good and bad are the different sides of the same coin. From small acts of kindness to awe-inspiring events, below is a list of some of the better things that happened in 2020, so we can all leave the year behind with … And as important as it is to be informed about what's going on in the world, it's just as important to maintain a positive view of the world and keep hope alive. Consider the model from March that predicted 2.2 million coronavirus deaths this year in the U.S. alone — not counting the knock-on effects of so much strain on the entire health system — if public behavior didn't change at all. On election day, 2016 (11-8-16), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18,332.74. Love is still blossoming amid quarantine thanks to drones, digital dinners and an inflatable plastic bubble. Americans rushed to adopt and foster pets in need amid the pandemic. The pandemic's likely beginnings in a "wet" food market in Wuhan has forced a rethink on treatment of other species that goes far beyond its point of origin. Well, that was brutal. , 2020 election. The work of protecting it in 2024 starts now. The unemployment rate slid back down to pre-pandemic levels, even as job growth slowed amid a surge of cases in December. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. While coronavirus pushed many museums to close, it opened up their collections to audiences virtually. Thanks to shameful obstruction by Mitch McConnell, it took the U.S. Congress until December to even get close to passing a second stimulus payment for all Americans. It’s a year that forced us to wrestle with uncertainty, loss and anxiety, as a pandemic raged worldwide, upending our jobs, our health—even our sense of self. Millions stayed at home even when it drove us crazy. Corporations are on the same carbon reduction bandwagon, with Apple going net zero by 2030 and Wal-Mart following suit in 2040. So much news coverage this year has focused on the COVID deniers, the defiantly maskless, the clueless spring breakers, the anti-lockdown protesters, the politicians who should have known better. People around the country brushed up on their sewing skills, making masks for people who need them most. On election day, 2016 (11-8-16), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18,332.74. Everyone has been affected in different ways, and some more tragically than others, but we're all undoubtedly feeling the weight of the collective grief and sadness that this year has inflicted on the world. Now San Francisco's Board of Supervisors has voted to study a guaranteed income program. Of course, such a radical shift would not have been possible without apps like Zoom, Google Meet, FaceTime, Skype and the whole gang. As much as the U.S. election revealed a deeply divided nation, it also showed a surprising amount of consensus on one issue: drugs. 10 Good(ish) Things That Happened in 2020. The year that the U.S. elected its first female vice president was also a shining moment for women leaders worldwide. And there's more movement toward a true UBI around the planet in the wake of successful experiments in Finland and Kenya. 41. Fascism, climate change and institutional racism may have reared their ugly heads, but so did a coordinated popular response. 38. Dua Lipa single-handedly saved pop music. Many employees have realized they can work from anywhere; many families are spending this holiday season figuring out  where "anywhere" is. Dec 24, 2020 Getty / Morgan McMullen. 9. Netflix’s elaborate “Floor Is Lava” competition brought us back to the imaginary game of our childhoods. 15. Racial injustice. This is part of an international effort towards "rewilding" — restoring all degraded natural areas, which scientists said this year could store centuries' worth of carbon emissions and save 70 percent of endangered species. Ford, GM, Tesla and other automakers were able to make ventilators and other medical devices to help with the pandemic. Why would they when there are much cleaner, cheaper alternatives? 26. 46. Perhaps most importantly in the long run, the UN removed marijuana from a list of dangerous drugs, clearing the way for more research into the still-mysterious lesser-known cannabinoids and their medicinal effects. Back on land, China started protecting the pangolin, the world's most trafficked mammal, which was close to extinction. The so-recently-mighty Exxon wrote off $20 billion in assets and was delisted from the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It's been a hell of a year, literally. Most shamefully, Postmaster Louis DeJoy stymied USPS delivery just as it was needed to deliver millions of mail-in ballots during a pandemic. Here are 26 major moments that happened in 2020 so far. 36. Somehow we’ve made it to June, and we’re going to bet that this was not how you expected your year to go. Major companies such as 3M and Apple pooled resources or shifted production to make millions of masks to help keep people safe. NASA named its Washington, D.C. headquarters after Mary W. Jackson, its first Black female engineer. 1. Out of quarantine comes bonus time with family. Wednesday 16 December 2020. Oil, amazingly, isn't doing much better. From small acts of kindness to new albums that got us dancing, here are 100 good things that happened in 2020 so far, compiled by USA TODAY's Life staff, in no particular order. Many feel sad, scared, frustrated and broken. Despite the worst things that happened in 2020 — raging wildfires, devastating explosions, a relentless pandemic — there were still lots of good things that offset the doom-scrolling. Still, some good came out of it. 31. Not to sugarcoat it, but 2020 was a moldy sourdough starter engulfed in a forest fire. It’s hard to imagine anyone referring to 2020 as anything other than…a struggle. Despite his best efforts, and ongoing rage, the most powerful man in the world has been fired by the people. Dec 24, 2020 Getty / Morgan McMullen. Billie Eilish swept the Grammys and announced a new single. Crayola launched a box of crayons with diverse skin colors for children to "accurately color themselves into the world.". It's that we are just starting to help on an unprecedented scale. Next up: turning major avenues into pedestrian zones and creating pedestrian "children streets" around schools. Eight of the top 10 countries on it were democracies. By Bess Kalb. Nathan Apodaca is the most famous multitasker of 2020: A TikTok of him skateboarding while drinking Ocean Spray cranberry juice and lipsyncing to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” immediately went viral, garnering over 50 million views. Also, India emerging as one of the world’s worst-affected countries as per the coronavirus cases is a sign of concern. Sure, Zoom fatigue is real. 5. In January, when the terrifyingly unknown virus called COVID-19 had killed just 26 people in Wuhan, Chinese scientists sequenced its genetic code and shared it with the world. Stick a fork in coal, it's done. Interpol launched a massive international crackdown on multiple forms of protected species smuggling. One of the worst things that have happened in 2020, coronavirus, has killed over seven lakh thirty thousand people across the world. Okay, let's face it. 7. "You are going to have your baptism of fire, folks," Dr. Anthony Fauci told a new vaccine research group at the National Institutes of Health. We are only halfway through 2020 and it's the worst — beloved celebrities have died, we are in the grips of a worldwide pandemic and we are living in a country upended by a fight for racial equality. ET. Wildfires. The FTC and 48 states launched a suit against Facebook for using its monopoly power to snuff out its competition, shortly after the DOJ and 11 states sued Google for the same thing. It's not as if we defeated misogyny in 2020, but the year was certainly an object lesson in why the patriarchy — and its assumption that men are inherently better leaders — needs to be dismantled for the good of our health. 2020 events: Yep, these things all happened in the year from hell. Musicians took to social media to give us personal concerts from home. Millions were thrown out of work, although the world unemployment rate is still below where it was in the Great Recession; millions more sank back into poverty. The year 2020 is full of tragedies all over the world but there is always a silver lining in everything. Here are 50 things that happened this year that weren’t the pandemic, but made 2020 totally 2020… It was a baptism for an entirely new kind of vaccine using Messenger RNA, which teaches our bodies to make proteins that trigger an immune response. They were also more likely to get COVID themselves through reckless behavior, as Boris Johnson, Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump all demonstrated. 2020 is getting the rap that it is one of the worst years in history -- but GoLocal argues that a number of good things have happened. There may even be several good things! It isn't that the world is getting greener in satellite photos; that's just the planet's plant matter doing us a favor and soaking up more of that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: People wait to celebrate New Years eve in Times Square on December 31, 2019 in New York City.

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