Did you know about these 10 good things that happened in 2020?

If there was ever a year in history to exemplify the phrase – times are changing – it has to be 2020. The year threw so many curveballs that we had to take charge, become responsible, and come together to save each other. 

Though it was a difficult year to love, there were a few silver linings. Today, let’s talk about 10 awesome things that prove 2020 was not all that bad.

1. Coronavirus vaccine, the fastest vaccine ever created in the history

Coronavirus struck us at the beginning of the year leaving us with very little hope. But scientists and researchers responded with unprecedented, record-breaking speed to find a solution in the form of a vaccine. The Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 shot is the fastest created vaccine in history!

2. We recognized the real superheroes around us – the frontline health workers

The bravery and courage of the frontlines health care workers have inspired us all. The selfless dedication of nurses, doctors, orderlies, who risked their lives to save ours is extraordinary. In fact, Google Trends revealed that the most searched career in 2020 was becoming a nurse. Right from the beginning, people across the globe showed their gratitude to these heroes through creative ways like playing the guitar on their balconies to banging plates!

3. Work and study from home, finally! 

Some of us felt isolated and frustrated while maintaining social distance, but most of us found meaning and connection with our families. Having the option to work and study from home gave us more time with our parents, siblings, relatives, pets, and even plants, helping us find deeper meaningful connections than ever before. 

4. People become more curious than ever!

According to Google Trends, the most searched word in 2020 was ‘why’. Questions like why is Mars red, why is the Moon pink? Why is the virus called Covid-19? And many such questions were the most searched ones! Be it quarantine or social distancing, 2020 truly made everybody more curious than ever. This is definitely a great thing to happen – no matter what the age is, we should always keep learning!

5. Social media helped this farmer sell his produce

source: BetterIndia

There’s no doubt that social media is a powerful medium. And it has been proved yet again. Kannaiyan Subramanian, a farmer from Erode, Tamil Nadu, did not have buyers for 95 tonnes of cabbage, all eroding, thanks to the lockdown. With no buyers, he could see his ₹ 4 lakh investment going down the drain. It was at this point that he decided to tweet about it!

On April 18, 2020, his tweet went viral, receiving 340,000 views and counting. It helped him find buyers for his crop. He was overwhelmed with the response he received on social media. Not only him, many across platforms felt indebted to social media for offering a space to talk, inform, buy, and sell.

6. Many restaurants shared their secret recipes so we could make them at home

source: IKEA

You may have heard the saying, “Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime.” Many famous chefs and restaurants came forward to help by sharing their secret recipes, letting us all unleash the Nigella Lawson or Nisha Madhulika inside us. This not only helped people to upgrade their culinary skills but also made way for some really good times, nowhere else but in our home sweet home.

7. Pollution levels dropped significantly

Memes like these were all over the internet during the first few months of the pandemic. While we had a good time enjoying these, so did our planet with all of us leaving it alone for once. The biggest proof is the case of our capital. Delhi was deemed the most polluted capital in the beginning of 2020 with a PM2.5 (PM2.5 are tiny particles in the air that reduce visibility and cause the air to appear hazy when levels are elevated) concentration as high as 322 Air Quality Index (AQI) in January 2020. Thanks to the lockdown, the average AQI reduced to 63 in August 2020, which falls under the ‘satisfactory’ category. But with the opening of the economy and winter kicking in, November and December have brought Delhi back to its worst, with the latest record as high as 389.

8. Fossil of a modern-day bird was discovered

An illustration by Phillip M. Krzeminski

The preserved skull of the ancestor of modern-day chickens and ducks was discovered in the UK in March. It is so old that the bird probably walked among dinosaurs. The discovery of “wonder chicken” can help unveil mysteries of the evolution of modern-day birds and some from the Cretaceous Period too.

9. 2020 was a relatively good year for animals

Right from more pet adoptions to streets in China banning the trade of certain animals for human consumption, 2020 has been a relatively good year for animals. France, too, banned the use of wild animals in circuses this year. Moreover, in Kenya, the lion population rose by 25% from its 2010 numbers, and more than 140 elephants were born in Amboseli National Park. Six baby orangutans were born in Borneo’s Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. And to top the list, two baby cheetah cubs were born through IVF to a surrogate mother in February 2020. This experiment was done by the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute at the Columbus Zoo. The International Union for Conservation of Nature had declared the Cheetahs to be near extinction with just 7500 of them left.

10. Africa is now Polio-free

Polio is a virus that spreads from person to person, usually through contaminated water. It can lead to paralysis by attacking the nervous system. On August 25, 2020 Africa was declared free of the last remaining strain of wild poliovirus. More than 95% of Africa’s population has now been immunized. 

So here’s our list of top 10 things in 2020. Did we miss anything? Share with us in the comment section below.