2021 was quite the rollercoaster ride! From unexpected events like the storming of the US Capitol Building by Donald Trump supporters to the highs and lows of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the year got off to a rocky start.
But we can’t complain too much, 2021 was definitely more eventful than 2020! For example, despite the challenges posed by the deadly Delta variant, Japan still managed to successfully pull off the delayed 2020 Olympics.
Speaking of remarkable achievements, Elon Musk made waves by launching a spacecraft filled with civilians into space and safely bringing them back. Talk about an out-of-this-world accomplishment!
If you thought things couldn’t get any more chaotic, let’s talk about NFTs. We’re still scratching our heads over the hype, but it didn’t stop Christie’s Auction House from joining the trend. They auctioned off an NFT for an astonishing $69 million!
Oh, and El Salvador made a groundbreaking move by adopting Bitcoin as a currency – what an age we live in!
Here’s what defined 2021 through its events, music, and memorable moments.
Historical Events
Here you can explore the unforgettable moments that shaped the unforgettable year of 2021.
January 2021
Jan 8
Donald Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter due to the risk of further incitement of violence.
Jan 9
Five minutes after take-off, Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 crashed north of Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 62 passengers.
Jan 14
Blue Origin’s New Shepherd rocket successfully launched on its 14th flight from Launch Site One, Texas.
It flew as mission NS-14 to test out a new and improved crew capsule, the same capsule used later in 2021 to fly Founder Jeff Bezos to space. This mission, however, had a very different passenger - one crash test dummy dubbed "Mannequin Skywalker."
February 2021
Feb 10
The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first Carnival festival in Rio occurred in 1723. Rio's Carnival is a yearly event that starts on the Friday preceding Lent and ends on Ash Wednesday.
Feb 18
The Perseverance rover successfully landed on Mars.
Perseverance is the largest, most advanced rover NASA has sent to another world.
Feb 25
Hasbro announced that their Mr. Potato Head brand was changing its name to be gender inclusive.
The names of long-standing Potato Head toys, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, remained unchanged. Instead, the brand changed from Mr. Potato Head to just Potato Head.
March 2021
Mar 5
Pope Francis made history when he became the first pope to visit Iraq.
The four-day visit was made possible by invitation from the Iraqi government and the largest Catholic church in Iraq, the Chaldean Catholic Church. Before this, a papal visit to Iraq was attempted in 2000, when Pope John Paul II wished to visit the city of Ur, but the Iraqi government denied him.
Mar 11
Prince William made a public statement saying that the British Royal Family was not a racist family.
The comment followed the allegations by his younger brother, Prince Harry, and his wife, Meghan, that she faced racism from members of the family.
Mar 14
Beyoncé won her 28th Grammy Award, breaking the world record for most Grammys won by an artist.
Mar 23
A 28-year-old man broke into a trading card shop in Japan and stole thousands of dollars worth of Pokémon cards.
Kensuke Nakanishi stole 80 Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards from the store totaling a worth of roughly 1 million yen ($9,120). He was later arrested.
April 2021
Apr 14
US President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021.
The withdrawal, which began on May 1, 2021, marked the end of the US' longest-running war.
Apr 17
Johns Hopkins University announced that the number of people who died worldwide due to the Covid-19 pandemic had reached three million.
Apr 26
A Texas resident narrowly avoided a felony after forgetting to return a VHS rental tape after 22 years.
Caron McBride unknowingly had a copy of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" since 1999. Even though the store had since closed, her record still stated she was guilty of "felony embezzlement." The case was since dropped, but McBride suspected her record was the reason for difficulty acquiring jobs.
May 2021
May 11
A nine-year-old boy died after being struck by lightning during a football coaching session in Blackpool, England.
The boy was taking part in a private coaching session when the lightning struck. He was taken to hospital but did not survive.
May 14
China landed its Zhurong rover on Mars, becoming the second nation to land a rover on the Red Planet.
May 26
Amazon announced the acquisition of film studio Metro Goldwyn Mayer for $8.45 billion.
Jun 19
Thousands of pigeons went missing after a freak weather incident.
Over 250,000 pigeons that were raised from birth were released for a race. Only 10% of the pigeons returned, and it is believed that an unexplained weather event occurred which caused them to go missing.
Jun 25
Former police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd.
The sentencing was one of the longest ever given out to a police officer for the unlawful use of deadly force. Chauvin was the first white police officer in Minnesota to do time for the murder of a Black man.
July 2021
Jul 7
Dutch artist Wilfred Stijger broke the world record for the tallest sandcastle.
Thirty other sculptors assisted Stijger in constructing the 69-foot (21-meter) tall sandcastle, which used 5,357 tons (4,860 tonnes) of sand. The sandcastle was built in Blokhus, Denmark, and broke the previous world record by over 9 feet (2.7 m).
Jul 11
Italy won their second EUFA Euro soccer title after defeating England in penalty shootouts.
Jul 21
The world’s fastest train, a maglev bullet train with speeds of 373 mph (600 km/h), debuted in China.
Jul 26
Platform diver Tom Daley won his first Olympic gold medal in men’s synchronized diving, 13 years after his first Olympic games.
August 2021
Aug 13
Supergiant Games released their most ambitious game to date, Hades, on PC, Switch, and macOS.
Hades was a huge step up from Supergiant Games' previous releases in terms of plot and complexity. At the 2020 Golden Joystick Awards, it won both the best Indie Game Award and the Critic's Choice Award.
Aug 30
The last American military evacuation plane left Kabul, ending the brutal 20-year-long War in Afghanistan.
September 2021
Sep 1
Legendary soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo broke the men’s record for the most international goals.
Ronaldo's record-breaking breaking achievement occurred during Portugal's World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland. Ronaldo scored both goals, bringing his total number of international goals to 111.
Sep 3
Dennis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
Sep 7
El Salvador established Bitcoin as legal tender.
Many considered the move a game changer, as it was the first case of a nation officially accepting cryptocurrency as legal currency. The law requires all businesses in El Salvador to accept Bitcoin as payment, providing they have the technological means to do so.
Sep 29
Two wild boars attacked Shakira in Barcelona while she was in a park, during which they took her bag of personal items.
October 2021
Oct 5
A Russian actress and a film director were launched into space to create the world’s first film in orbit.
Actress Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko traveled to the International Space Station to film scenes for "Challenge," in which a surgeon is rushed to the space station to save an astronaut.
Oct 17
The Russian Soyuz MS-18 spaceflight landed in the Kazakh Steppe, Kazakhstan.
The mission, flown by the Y. A. Gagarin spacecraft, was the 146th crewed Soyuz spacecraft flight. On its return from the International Space Station, it carried Russian film director Klim Shipenko and actress Yulia Peresild. They had spent twelve days aboard the station filming for the movie Vyzov (The Challenge).
Oct 21
Alec Baldwin accidentally used a live firearm during a movie rehearsal, during which he shot and killed a cinematographer.
Oct 24
A pair of Michael Jordan’s 1984 Nike Air Ships broke the record for the highest-selling sneakers at auction.
This particular pair of Nikes sold for $1.472 million, as they are the earliest-known shoes Jordan wore in a regular season.
November 2021
Nov 5
ABBA released “Voyage,” their ninth and final studio album.
Their previous album, "The Visitors," came out in 1981, over 40 years before "Voyage." The group split in 1983, stating they'd never perform together again. However, they reunited in 2016 and recorded two songs for "Voyage" in 2018.
Nov 12
An LA judge ruled to end Britney Spears’ conservatorship, giving her control of her life after 14 years.
Nov 25
The crew aboard the International Space Station celebrated Thanksgiving.
On Thanksgiving, the astronauts ran on a treadmill and called it a "turkey trot"! Special food was provided for the occasion; although still in vacuum-sealed packets, they enjoyed candied yams, crab bisque, turkey, and cherry blueberry cobbler to finish it all off.
December 2021
Dec 9
Over 40 camels were disqualified from the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival’s beauty pageant.
With a $66 million cash prize, it's no wonder people are tempted to skew the odds in their camel's favor. Sixteen camels were cut from the contest for having botox injections, with another twenty-seven disqualified for having stretched-out body parts.
Dec 13
“Spiderman: No Way Home” premiered in Los Angeles. It starred Tom Holland, Toby Maguire, and Andrew Garfield.
Dec 25
The James Webb Space Telescope was launched from the Guiana Space Center.
Jointly developed by NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency, the telescope is the most advanced infrared telescope ever built. The first image captured by the telescope was released on July 11, 2022.
Dec 28
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope began the multi-day process of unfurling its sunshield.
The James Webb Space Telescope, the most advanced infrared telescope ever launched into space, is so large that it had to be folded up like a transformer just to fit atop its launch vehicle. Three days after successfully launching into space, the telescope began the three-day deployment of its sunshield. This multi-layered shield is one of the most critical components of the telescope; for its infrared sensors to work at optimal levels, they need to be below -369.7 °F (-223.2 °C).
Famous Deaths
Discover the well-known names we lost in 2021.
1922 — 2021
Betty White
American Actress Betty White was born on January 17, 1922. She died on December 31, 2021, at age 99 in California, USA.
1966 — 2021
Paul Ritter
English Actor Paul Ritter was born on December 20, 1966. He died on April 5, 2021, at age 54 in England, UK.
Quotes
Explore some of the quotes that came out of 2021.
May 29
“I find it difficult being outside. I don’t mind when it turns into black night, but once the hours of dusk come, I get very anxious.”
Sinéad O’Connor
(Irish Singer)
2021 in Music
2021 gifted us with a treasure trove of unforgettable melodies that became the soundtrack of our lives!
From the rebellious anthem “Good 4 U” by Olivia Rodrigo to the mesmerizing collaboration “Save Your Tears” by The Weeknd and Ariana Grande, these chart-toppers infused our lives with excitement and had us feeling better after a difficult few years of lockdowns & madness.
Dive into these music highlights from 2021 that you need to know.
Album of the Year
Taylor Swift enchanted listeners with her alternative masterpiece “Folklore” in 2021, claiming the Album of the Year Grammy and captivating hearts along the way.
Song of the Year
H.E.R. captivated audiences and won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2021 with her powerful anthem “I Can’t Breathe.”
Best New Artist
Megan Thee Stallion’s fierce and unapologetic style won her the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2021, establishing her as a force to be reckoned with in the world of hip-hop.
Eurovision Song Contest Winner
The 65th Eurovision Song Contest took place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 2021, offering a stage for diverse musical styles.
Italy secured the victory with the electrifying rock song “Zitti e buoni,” performed by Måneskin, leaving a lasting impression on viewers around the world.
2021 In Numbers
Here’s an interesting fact to begin with – while 2021 isn’t a prime number, the only numbers other than itself that it can be divided by are primes: 1, 47, and 43.
In Roman numerals, the number 2021 can be represented as MMXXI. This representation is formed by combining the Roman numerals for its values. When converted to binary, 2021 becomes 11111100101.
Deficient Number
2021 is recognized as a deficient number, which means that if you add up all the smaller numbers that can divide evenly into it, the sum will be less than the number itself.
So, when you add up all the smaller numbers that can divide evenly into 2021 (1, 43, 47), they add up to 91, which is less than 2021.
Chinese Zodiac 2021
According to the Chinese zodiac tradition, 2021 was officially recognized as The Year of the Ox, an occurrence that takes place once every twelve years.
Interestingly, each zodiac sign is associated with one of the five elements – Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. This actually makes 2021 the Year of the Metal Ox, a cycle that repeats every sixty years.
The Chinese New Year doesn’t always fall on January 1st like in the Gregorian calendar. In fact, in 2021, Chinese New Year began on February 12th, due to the unique lunar cycle that guides the Chinese calendar.
Those born in the Year of the Ox are diligent, dependable, and methodical. They are known for their strong work ethic, reliability, and determination to achieve their goals.
Olivia Holt, Camila Cabello and K.J. Apa are notable figures who were born in the Years of the Ox!
2004 Trivia
Did you know that in 2021, highest global temperature records were broken around the world?
More than 400 weather stations across the globe documented unprecedented temperatures, surpassing all previous records.
Notably, Death Valley, USA, registered a new maximum world temperature of 129.9°F (54.4°C).
