This makes it really hard to develop decade-defining styles, fashion, and ideologies in comparison to previous, more defining decades. However, this doesn’t mean we didn’t have memorable moments and interesting personalities to talk about in the 2010s. Consider the following list of 25 Historic Moments from the 2010s That Will Go Down in History Books. It will help you realize the 2010s weren’t as boring and dull as some nostalgic fans of the past suggest. By then, Netflix had just introduced a new way to consume content: streaming. This ushered in a new era and forever changed the entertainment industry. It’s all about “Netflix and chill” these days. The thing is that the term “selfie stick” did not become widely known until 2014, though. For that matter, it was only in 2015 when technology news started advertising a large variety of selfie sticks available on the market. Justice and human dignity were not priorities in most states. However, what was supposed to be peaceful ended up becoming a series of anti-government protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Islamic world in the early 2010s. Almost a decade later, and there’s still conflict in many countries in the Middle East. Analysts have referred to the ongoing conflicts as the Arab Winter. The missing plane captured the attention of millions around the world, triggering a multinational search and plenty of conspiracy theories. For years it remained an unsolved mystery until Malaysia’s former Prime Minister, Najib Razak, stated that the aircraft’s flight ended somewhere in the Indian Ocean. No further explanation had been given since then. Are you happy with this explanation? I know I am not! These non-cable, Internet-based media streaming services even began producing their own programming. As for the TV “products” of the 2010s? Way too many to name but let’s focus on the top show. Can you name another TV show in history that had the cultural influence (on a global scale) that Game of Thrones still has? … We’re waiting … Same-sex marriage, specifically, was legally performed and recognized in several countries during the decade, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States (all fifty states). Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in association football; Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic in tennis; LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in basketball; Tom Brady breaking tons of individual and team records in the NFL … and the list goes on. None of them, however, managed to break a record that lasted for thousands of years. Well, except maybe one very special athlete: Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time, after winning his 13th individual Olympic title in the 2012 Summer Olympics. By doing so, he broke a 2168-year-old record that was held by an ancient Greek athlete named Leonidas of Rhodes. Michael Phelps has won a total of 28 Olympic medals, 23 of them being gold. He’s literally ahead of several nations in the all-time medal table. Specifically, the image captured the Supermassive Black Hole (SMBH) at the center of M87, a supergiant elliptical galaxy in the Virgo constellation. This accomplishment drew on years of hard work involving astronomers, observatories, and scientific institutions from all around the world. It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan, and the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900. The earthquake triggered powerful tsunami waves that may have reached heights of up to 133 feet (40.5 meters). Residents of Sendai had only eight to ten minutes of warning, and it’s estimated that more than 19,000 people lost their lives during the most catastrophic natural disaster of the 21st century so far. The Canadian anti-consumerist and pro-environment group/magazine Adbusters initiated the call for a protest. The OWS created the now-legendary “We are the 99%” slogan, which refers to income and wealth inequality in the U.S. between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. Avengers: Endgame grossed an incredible $2.7 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing superhero film of all time and the highest-grossing movie of all time, surpassing 2009’s Avatar. The president’s impeachment came after a formal House inquiry found that he had solicited foreign interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election to help his re-election bid, and then obstructed the inquiry itself by telling his administration officials to ignore subpoenas for documents and testimony. Could President Trump become the first American president in history to be removed from his office through this procedure? This is a question that will be answered during the 2020s. ISIS terrorists carried out suicide bombings and several mass shootings across the city and its northern suburb, Saint-Denis, on November 13, 2015. The first of the attacks happened at 9:20 pm at the Stade de France, where France was playing Germany in an international football match. Two other suicide bombers wearing identical suicide vests detonated them outside the stadium shortly afterward. Meanwhile, near the center of Paris, gunmen stormed cafes and restaurants. The attackers killed 130 people in total, including 90 at the Bataclan theatre. It’s considered one of the worst terrorist attacks in Europe’s history. Brexit became a reality in 2019 and now it remains to see if the Brits made the right or wrong decision. While the device was only capable of rotational tracking, the initial design would later serve as a basis from which the later designs came. Other popular headsets include PlayStation VR, Google Cardboard, HTC Vive, and the Samsung Gear VR. The event was described as a giant leap for womankind and not unfairly so. The two NASA astronauts made space history on October 18 by completing the first-ever spacewalk by an all-female group. So, who knows? Maybe the first “man” on Mars will be a woman after all. Wouldn’t that be cool? Until 1997, Hong Kong was ruled by Britain as a colony but then returned to China. Under the “one country, two systems” arrangement, it has some autonomy, and its people have more rights. The bill was withdrawn in September but demonstrations continue and now demand full democracy and an inquiry into police actions. Clashes between police and activists grew violent at some point, with police firing live bullets and protesters attacking officers and throwing petrol bombs. There have been two deaths: a man struck in the head by a brick allegedly thrown at him by protesters during a civil confrontation, and Chow Tsz-lok, a student protester, who fell to his death inside a parking lot during the riots. New Horizons also became the fifth space probe to achieve the escape velocity needed to leave our solar system. Actress Rose McGowen bravely shared her story of assault involving the Hollywood titan. This led to a domino effect of other women speaking out against sexual assault and harassment – ushering in the transformative #MeToo era. By the time it was extinguished, the building’s spire and most of its roof had been destroyed and its upper walls severely damaged. Extensive damage to the interior was prevented by its stone vaulted ceiling, which largely contained the burning roof as it collapsed. On December 25, 2019, for the first time since the French Revolution, the Notre Dame Cathedral did not host Christmas services. Greta Thunberg recently became a global phenomenon who is inspiring young people to protest against climate change. And she is doing a great job so far … so great that she earned the title of 2019 Person of the Year by Time Magazine. She is the youngest person to ever receive this honor. That was only one of the many cyber security incidents that took place during the 2010s. Many cases including hacking, leaks, or theft of sensitive information and gained the increased attention of governments, corporations, and individuals during this past decade. This was an extremely significant moment in space exploration history, as it was the first time humans landed a spacecraft on the far side of the moon.
