20 Bright Spots From 2020
2020 was unlike any other year, and thanks to COVID-19, wildfires, social injustices, election chaos, and other afflictions, it created its own special brand of pain and suffering. Nevertheless, our last 12 months did contain a few bright spots. So before we simply dispense with ’20 and ring in the new year, let’s take a moment to reflect on some good, surprising, or downright hilarious moments of the year…
1. Companies and governments working together developed and approved multiple safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines within a 12-month span. Prior vaccines had usually taken 10-15 years, and the fastest had been a four-year process to develop the mumps vaccine.
2. Many companies, including Innvision, transitioned smoothly to working remotely, using video communication tools such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
3. Funny Zoom blunders, some pantless, provided good laughs.
4. The Federal Reserve, US Treasury, and US lawmakers combined to provide multiple rounds and levels of stimulus funding and assistance to counter the negative economic effects of the pandemic.
5. Manufacturers quickly pivoted to produce masks, sanitizer, and ventilators to help with the pandemic, while hotels rapidly pivoted to new cleaning, and operational protocols for guest and worker safety.
6. We recognized heroes: Front-line workers, health care workers, and our kids’ teachers.
7. An opera in Spain performed to a theater full of houseplants, then donated them to health care workers.
8. People around the world supported the elderly with meal deliveries, letters, and neighborly check-ins.
9. A 103-year-old grandma beat COVID-19 and celebrated with an ice-cold Bud Light.
10. Telemedicine/telehealth and remote patient monitoring tools helped protect clinicians and patients by allowing social distancing and limiting the spread of the virus, while providing a high level of care and convenience.
11. Working from home has allowed families to reconnect and spend more time together.
12. We came up with creative ways to celebrate big milestones, like drive-by birthdays and Zoom dance parties.
13. Concerts, cooking classes, wine tasting, and weddings…all enjoyed at home in sweatpants!
14. In an oxygen therapy experiment involving 35 64-year old adults in Israel, scientists significantly reversed the aging process at the cellular level.
15. Many restaurants figured out ways to offer more outdoor dining.
16. The Great Barrier Reef in Australia had a noticeable recovery.
17. More pets are being adopted and fostered than ever before!
18. Google’s AlphaGo AI technology solved one of the most challenging problems in computational molecular biology (involving protein folding), which could lead to previously impossible solutions in cancer, aging, therapies, and medicine.
19. Sports, at all levels, found a way to continue.
20. Over 100 Welsh goats took over a town and spread happiness to the people during a shutdown.
All of us at Innvision Hospitality wish you a Happy New Year! Please contact us to discuss any of your interior design or hotel FF&E needs in 2021.
Photo Credits:
No Pants photo: Good Morning America, ABC
Reef photo: The Ocean Agency / XL Catlin Seaview Survey / Richard Vevers
Opera photo: LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images
