20 things you forgot happened in 2020, because tbh, the whole year's been a bit of a blur
2020 has completely warped our sense of time. How many times have you found yourself thinking, 'Wait, what day of the week is it again?' Not only do we barely know what month we're in (guys, did October actually happen?), but we can't recall what life was like before lockdown. Remember socialising with (whisper it) more than six households? Remember dancing in sweaty night clubs and going to gigs? Remember when face masks were merely a vital step in your skincare routine? Nope, us neither.
That's why we wanted to take a look back at 2020 and remember all the things you forgot happened this year. Yes, some most were awful and tragic, but others weren't all that bad. In fact, this year gave us some incredibly heartwarming and life-affirming stories. Case in point: when Captain Sir Thomas Moore raised over £30 million for charity in the run-up to his 100th birthday.
It goes without saying that the Coronavirus pandemic has governed the news cycle this year, but amidst the worldwide battle with COVID-19 came many news stories that either didn't get the credit they deserved or because of the toll of 2020, have either simply been forgotten or feel as though they happened last decade, rather than a few months ago.
Some news stories you won't find below though, because chances are, you haven't forgotten about them. When George Floyd was murdered at the hands of Minneapolis police on 25th May, it sparked worldwide outrage at police brutality and systemic racism, and Black Lives Matter demonstrators stormed the streets in cities across the globe.
We also haven't forgotten about some of this year's more recent news stories, such as the #EndSARS protests, Jeremy Corbyn being suspended then readmitted to the Labour Party, and when Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump to become President-elect of the United States.
Those big-hitting and recent stories aside, here are 20 things that you totally forgot happened in the whirlwind that is 2020...
Getty ImagesAustralian bushfires destroyed thousands of homes and killed billions of animals
2019-2020: We know, doesn't this devastating news story feel like something from circa April 2019? Actually, the Australian bushfires that destroyed 46 million acres of land, thousands of homes, and killed 34 people and billions of animals, was ongoing from June 2019 ending in March 2020.
Getty ImagesMeghan and Harry cut ties with the royal fam
8th January: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry stepped back from being senior royals at the start of the year, saying that they wanted to "carve out a progressive new role within this institution" and become financially independent. They no longer receive any money from Prince Charles and they've repaid the £2.4 million spent on Frogmore Cottage.
Getty ImagesUkraine International Airlines flight PS752 was shot down by Iranian military
8th January: A passenger flight from Tehran to Kyiv operated by Ukraine International Airlines was shot down by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp, killing all 176 passengers and crew members on board. It came during escalating tensions between the US and Iran amidst the 2019–2020 Persian Gulf crisis. The Iranian government initially denied any involvement for at least three days, before eventually confirming that the military had indeed shot down the civilian airliner.
Getty ImagesBrad and Jen reunited at the SAG awards and everyone lost their sh*t
19th January: In news that gave us slight hope that 2020 wasn't going to turn out to be complete garbage, Brad Pitt and Jen An reunited at the SAG awards and looked COSY AF. The pair went splitsville in 2005 after a five-year marriage but that hasn’t stopped us attempting to ship them back together ever since. Sadly it wasn't the reunion everyone hoped for, Brad is now dating a 27-year-old model and 2020 did, in fact, turn out to be complete garbage. Thanks a lot, Brad.
Getty ImagesKobe and Gianna Bryant were killed in a helicopter crash
26th January: 41-year-old retired basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, were tragically killed on impact when the helicopter they were travelling in crashed in Calabasas, California. While the cause of the crash has yet to be determined, reports suggest that the pilot was disoriented by the foggy weather conditions.
Getty ImagesWe left the EU
31st January: COVID somewhat distracted us from Brexit this year, so it's easy to forget that we officially left the EU on 31st January. Trade negotiations continue in the lead-up to the UK's post-Brexit transition period ending in January.
Getty ImagesParasite won the Academy Award for Best Film
10th February: Ah, the Oscars, back when big crowds of people could gather in the same place and touch and stuff. Remember that? These guys definitely do, because it was the night that comedy-thriller Parasite won four awards, including Best Film, sparking a worldwide interest in Korean cinema.
Getty ImagesWe were all hooked on Love Is Blind for, like, a week
February 13th: Netflix's absolutely batsh*t dating show Love Is Blind came into our lives and blew our tiny minds. Remember when Jessica let her dog drink red wine out of her glass? Or when Giannia told Damian that he was basically a terrible shag? Or when Amber confessed that she was in a load of debt because she spent all her money on make-up? Or the absolute ICON that is Lauren's dad? Bring us season two of this absolute nonsense immediately, Netflix.
Getty ImagesWe mourned the tragic passing of Caroline Flack
15th February: Caroline Flack was found dead at her London flat after taking her own life at the age of 40 on Saturday 15th February. Her suicide prompted many to call for kindness across social media, inspired by a post Caroline shared to Instagram in December, saying: "In a world where you can be anything, be kind".
Charlotte Awbery sang The Shallows and almost made us cry tbh
25th February: Remember when Charlotte Awbery from Romford went viral after singing a cover of Lady Gaga's 'The Shallows' on the London underground? The video racked up over 60 million views in less than a week, and she's since released her cover with a music video and has performed for Ellen DeGeneres. 2020 was Charlotte Awbery's year.
Getty ImagesHarvey Weinstein was finally sent to prison
11th March: One good thing to come out of 2020 was when Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault and went to prison in March. He was sentenced to 23 years at the Wende Correctional Facility in New York where he is currently 'very poorly' with suspected Coronavirus.
Getty ImagesThe tampon tax got scrapped, FINALLY
11th March: Seems like the feminist fairy waved a magic wand for women on 11th March because it was also the day the tampon tax got abolished in the UK. Rishi made the announcement in the 2020 Budget, scrapping the surcharge to women's sanitary products, which will no longer apply when the UK's transition period for leaving the EU ends on December 31st. It will reportedly save the average woman almost £40 over their lifetime.
@tomhanks / InstagramTom Hanks got the 'rona and the whole world freaked out
12th March: The internet went into meltdown when universally-adored actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson revealed they'd tested positive for Coronavirus. "SPEAKING TO CORONAVIRUS DIRECTLY .... TAKE ME INSTEAD OF TOM HANKS GOD DAMMIT. TAKE ME INSTEAD", wrote one Hanks lover, "Tom Hanks was like the number 1 person not allowed to get this sh*t", said another. One guy also said this and we have never agreed with anything more:
"Literally the short list of people who I wish nothing bad would happen to EVER is:
1) my family
2) innocent children
3) Tom Hanks".Both Tom and Rita have now recovered but seriously, we were not okay for a minute there.
NetflixJust when we thought things couldn't get crazier, Netflix dropped Tiger King
20th March: Amidst the first national lockdown, when the world really felt like a strange and scary place to be (which really hasn't changed), Netflix introduced us to Joe Exotic, 'that bitch' Carole Baskin and the rest of the big cat-loving, gun-toting, mind-boggling crew at Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. We became obsessed. Did Carole Baskin kill her husband, put him through a mincer and feed him to the tigers? Is Doc Antle still running a sex cult? Who in their right mind let Joe Exotic run for president? And is it bad that we secretly loved Joe's country music? Come on, you know his songs were catchy.
PentagonThe Pentagon released a UFO video, and no one cared
27th April: Remember when the Pentagon released videos of alien UFOs? No? Us neither. They released three declassified videos that show US navy pilots encountering mysterious floating objects in the sky, because they wanted "to clear up any misconceptions by the public on whether or not the footage that has been circulating was real or whether or not there is more to the videos". But actually, the public didn't really care. Perhaps because it was around the same time when the President of the United States told everyone to drink bleach. Yeah, April was a weird f***ing month.
Getty ImagesEvery sentient being on planet Earth fell in love with Paul Mescal
27th April: But April also bestowed upon us the very horny TV adaption of Sally Rooney's Normal People and the whole world and its nan fell in love with hunky Irish actor Paul Mescal, who plays Connell Waldron in the series and also happens to be naked quite a lot (except for the now iconic 'Connell's chain', of course). We can't wait to see, ahem, more of him in season two.
NetflixWe became obsessed with absolute hun Christine Quinn
22nd May: Guys, did Selling Sunset actually happen, or did we just dream it? It must have done, because everyone became utterly obsessed with the sass-pot that is Christine Quinn, straight-talking real estate hun and all-round top bitch.
Getty ImagesJess Glynne wore joggers, got refused entry to Sexy Fish, claimed it was discrimination, needs to learn meaning of discrimination
6th July: Singer and lover of wearing sportswear to overpriced restaurants Jess Glynne made headlines in the summer when Mayfair haunt Sexy Fish refused her entry because she was wearing joggers and a hoodie. She took to Instagram to pen a very angry letter to the restaurant in which she claimed she had been 'discriminated against'. In one of those instances that makes you feel very grateful for funny people on the internet, Twitter was awash with top-notch memes (exhibit A, B and C) taking the p*ss out of Jess and her lack of understanding about what discrimination actually means. Ah, privilege.
Getty ImagesNaya Rivera sadly joined the list of Glee stars to pass away
8th July: Naya Rivera went missing on a California lake on 8th July, and was feared to have drowned after her four-year-old son was found sleeping on a boat. Six days later, her body was found. Rivera's son told police they had gone swimming but she never returned, adding that his mum 'boosted him onto the deck of their rental boat from behind' before he 'saw her disappear under surface of water' after they went swimming. Police said that the Glee star acted desperately and 'mustered enough energy to get her son back on the boat, but not enough to save herself'. The discovery of Rivera's body coincided with the seventh anniversary of Cory Monteith's death, who was also in Glee. Their cast mate Mark Salling also passed away in 2018.
Getty ImagesAn explosion in Beirut killed at least 204 people
4th August: Even though the Beirut blast only happened in August, it feels like an absolute lifetime ago. 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate had been stored in a warehouse at Beirut's port without proper safety measures for six years, and while the exact cause of the detonation is still under investigation, there had been a fire at the warehouse preceding the blast, which caused at least 204 deaths, 6,500 injuries, billions of dollars' worth of property damage, and left an estimated 300,000 people homeless. It is considered one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions in history.
