20 Bright Spots in 2021

2021 is almost over, and many people can’t wait to cross over to a new and better year. There may be a feeling that ’21 was sub-par, in large part thanks to the Delta variant. But there is also genuine optimism in the air about 2022, despite the rising Omicron variant. Before we leave 2021 for the history books, let’s look back on the good things that happened this year:

1. Tokyo successfully hosted the 2020 Olympics that had been delayed due to COVID-19
2. SpaceX launched and safely returned a capsule with the world’s first all-civilian crew that orbited in space for three days.
3. COVID-19 vaccines began worldwide distribution and helped limit hospitalizations, deaths, and the spread of the coronavirus.
4. US hotels’ Revenue Per Available Room was up in 2021 compared to 2020! 
5. With nearly unanimous support in Congress, Juneteenth became an official federal holiday.
6. When icy temperatures last winter froze Kodak, Tennessee, shutting power down and freezing pipes, Sean Patel, owner of the local Quality Inn, wanted to do something to help his neighbors: open his hotel to all comers, even if he ran out of rooms, and provide them food and warmth until the power came back on. He did the same when something similar occurred at his hotel in TX. GNN (Good News Network) voted for Patel’s hotels to be the on the Nicest Places in America list this year.
7. US seasonally-adjusted unemployment claims reached their lowest level since 1969.
8. Pfizer developed an oral antiviral pill (Paxlovid) that they say reduces COVID hospitalization and death by 89%.
9. French nun Lucile Randon became the oldest person to recover from Covid-19 in February, just in time for her 117th birthday!
10. Google’s DeepMind artificial intelligence solved a 50-year old challenge in biology by sequencing every known protein. This “protein folding” solution will help doctors and scientists identify diseases and develop cures faster.
11. Over 140 countries pledged to reach net-zero emissions in the Glasgow Climate Pact.
12. 100-year-old Maurine ‘Mighty Mo’ Kornfeld keeps breaking swimming records.
13. The first human trial of a vaccine for HIV is very promising, with 97% of volunteers seeing an immune response.
14. In November, the US reopened our borders to international travel, lifting restrictions that had been in place for 20 months due to COVID-19.
15. Britany Spears was freed from her conservatorship after 13 years!
16. Many weddings and funerals took place this year that had been postponed due to COVID-19.
17. 600,000 new people worldwide gained access to the internet each day in 2021. As a result, 62% of the world’s population is now online.
18. An amateur astronomer discovered a new moon for the first time – and it’s orbiting Jupiter!
19. The World Health Organization announced that China & El Salvador are now Malaria-free.
20. Two dolphins were spotted swimming in Venice’s famous Grand Canal – an extremely rare sight, most likely due to the calmer waters from social restrictions because of the pandemic.