Well, we did it. In a few days, we will be wrapping up the 2010s and transitioning to the 2020s. As we wrap up, I'd like to look back at some of the major moments of the past decade that will have you saying "yay" or "oh, thank God, it's almost over." Hopefully more the latter, but we'll see. Let's go.
We beg Maroon 5 to play "Sweet Victory" from Spongebob, and they don't
Spongebob Squarepants creator, Stephen Hillenburg, passed away in November 2018 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Remember the ALS ice bucket challenge? That was an effort to raise money for the cure for this same disease.
This year, there was a HUGE push on the internet for Maroon 5, the half-time act at Super Bowl 53, to perform the song "Sweet Victory" from the Bubble Bowl episode of Spongebob. 1.1 million people signed an online petition asking Maroon 5 to grace the stage with this legendary anthem, and in typical 2019 fashion, all we got was disappointment.
The Mueller Report is released and we're all let down by the hype
Any one of these items on the list could be an article themselves, so I'll keep this one short. After a year of investigations, Robert Mueller published his report surrounding the allegations that Russian forces influenced the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. After so much hype, so much drama, so many late-night tweets, we got a report that effectively could be summarized as, "I'm not saying he DIDN'T do it, but I won't say he did..."
Popeye's Chicken Sandwich causes brands (and people) to fight
I will never know what it was like to experience the sandwich that caused Chick-Fil-A to fire back shade towards a rival fast food chain, rather than take the high road. You know that sandwich has got to be good if you have the ghost of Truett Cathy ready to throw hands.
The St. Louis Blues win the Stanley Cup for the first time EVER
The over 50-year-old hockey franchise brought home Lord Stanley's prize for the first time in team history in 2019. Even though this was earlier this year, I feel like this win was not nearly as memorable as it should have been. Granted, I am not a St. Louis fan, but as a hockey fan, I should have remembered this one. I suppose after seeing the Capitals win their first-ever Stanley Cup the year before, I had had enough first-time drama for a while.
The Government shuts down for weeks at a time
From December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019, America was at the center of the longest "I'm taking my ball and going home" spat in our history. President Trump shut down government functions as retaliation against continued blocked funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall. On January 25th, President Trump agreed to resume government operations until February 15th, where he then declared a national emergency in an attempt to circumvent his continued roadblocks. Meanwhile, we all just desperately wanted the petty bickering to end.
A picture of an egg becomes the most-liked photo on Instagram
Speaking of petty bickering, an account named @world_record_egg launched a campaign to make a stock image of an egg become the most-liked photo on Instagram. Previously held by a photo of everyone's favorite "self-made" billionaire, Kylie Jenner, the egg surpassed the most-liked photo and took the number one spot with 54 million likes and counting.
Game of Thrones comes to a lackluster end
Have you ever loved something so much that you just wanted to see it put out of its misery? That's how I felt with Game of Thrones. After seven mostly-great seasons, Game of Thrones was finally coming to an end - and boy howdy, did it come to an end. It is so hard to recommend a show to someone when you say "you'll love 99% of it, but you'll hate the end."
The U.S. Women's soccer team wins the World Cup for the FOURTH time
In a landmark victory, the U.S. Women's soccer team wins the World Cup for the fourth time in 2019 - A momentous occasion that immediately became about slander and slurs when several of the female athletes brought common-sense equality to the spotlight: equal pay for women. The men's U.S. soccer team was suffering, boasting a lackluster record at the national stage, whereas the women's World Cup became one of the most-watched television events for the year. Of course, when the political tweets start flowing, the red-hatted anger starts showing. A non-partisan issue quickly became a war of conservatives and liberals, with women's rights once again at the center.
"Old Town Road" is released and becomes a smash hit
Lil Nas X - Old Town Road (Official Movie) ft. Billy Ray Cyruswww.youtube.com
"Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus went from my most hated song of the year to most loved, to most hated (again), to once again, most loved. It's hard to deny that this song is an absolute banger. This song killed it in the international charts, Billboard top 100, and pretty much every music award show in 2019.
Storm Area 51 is the biggest event no one went to
I don't know how to even approach this one, so I'm going to share with you the Facebook event description, where over 15,000 people RSVP'd, but only a few hundred actually went:
"We will all meet up at the Area 51 Alien Center tourist attraction and coordinate our entry. If we naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Let's see them aliens."
"Truth Hurts" by Lizzo is released and Lizzo becomes the biggest pop star in the U.S.
Lizzo - Truth Hurts (Official Video)www.youtube.com
Another top banger of the year, "Truth Hurts" by Lizzo, was actually released in 2017, but took some time to catch on. After the re-release, album, and international tour, Lizzo and her amazing message of body image acceptance had a year.
White Claw becomes everyone's favorite drink
I can't quite pinpoint when and why White Claw took off, but in the past year or so, it has quickly become the meme drink of teens and college-age students across the U.S. This alcoholic seltzer is the new defacto popular beverage, replacing the previous meme drink, Four Loko (ughhh).
FaceApp tells Russian spies what you would look like if you ever smiled
What will I look like when I'm old? What if I was a woman? What if I had blonde hair? These questions and more were answered by Russian intelligence-gathering superweapon, FaceApp. FaceApp, the app that Photoshops on various visual trickery, was outed as a Russian hacking app (or something???). It is not totally clear what the malicious intent was for FaceApp, other than there was some nefarious data collection occurring. If I, for some reason, wanted to know what I looked like in drag, they could easily get it off my account.
"Baby Shark" gets stuck in our heads for all time
Baby Shark Dance | Sing and Dance! | Animal Songs | PINKFONG Songs for Childrenwww.youtube.com
"Baby Shark," popular children's tune, and apparent crack for babies, gained popularity in 2016, though, much like "Truth Hurts," has a much deeper history. "Baby Shark" was a campfire song, turned pop anthem, thanks to a number of remixes and online DJs. As an investigative journalist, I put my sanity on the line for you, reader, and subjected myself to learning about this song and listening to the different versions. If you choose to do-do-do the same, may God have mercy on your soul.
The Momo "Challenge" claims its first, and only, "victim"
The Momo Challenge, a viral internet video, gained popularity in the summer of 2019. What was actually a fabricated social media challenge perpetuated by an article claiming a girl in Indonesia committed suicide after watching this super creepy and super fake looking video. The whole thing stinks of Slenderman (another fabricated paranormal monster turned viral sensation) mixed with the Ring (no thanks, I don't need to watch the VHS to have nightmares, that's all you).
Lori Loughlin is busted cheating to get her kids into college
Aunt Becky from Full House was at the center of a scandal where it was revealed that she, along with 50 other individuals, were indicted for disguising bribes to the University of Southern California as donations to facilitate her daughter's entrance to the school. While the case has taken many twists and turns, the most shocking bit is that Aunt Becky will be trading Full House for The Big House (ba dum tssh).
VSCO girls come out of nowhere and we all wish they would go back
What is a VSCO girl, and why does she go "sksksk"? I'll bet these were questions you wouldn't be asking yourself today. In the part of the article where I admit I am becoming a bit out of touch with the youths of today, I will tell you about VSCO, an app made popular alongside the rise of another app I really know nothing about, TikTok. Both apps grew majorly in popularity in the past year, but VSCO to me is a different animal. I can understand TikTok - I am of the generation where I saw the birth, growth, and death of Vine (plus our hearts torn out once again with the announcement of V2, the sequel to Vine, that never amounted to anything more than a logo). TikTok is similar in fashion - fun, short, musically-inclined videos that are centered around a punchline, usually involving a meme.
VSCO is a photo editing app that grew in popularity over the summer of 2019. VSCO girls are a subculture of users, Generation Z aged, who are laid-back, love the summer, use metal straws and wear crocs, and in a word, "basic." The truth is, it's one of those vague lifestyle descriptors that is better if you see it for yourself.
Avengers: Endgame caps off an incredible Marvel cinematic experience
The end of an era. What began as several missteps by Marvel for years, ended in one of the biggest movies of all time. Avengers: Endgame completed the more-than-decade long saga of the Marvel superhero franchise. It is hard to say goodbye to some of the fan-favorite characters. Iron Man, Captain America, and others are all hanging up the spandex to move on to other projects in the future. It's been a fun ride, and at least this went out better than the Universal Dark Cinematic Universe.
A$AP Rocky is arrested in Sweden, Trump comes to his defense
I thought it might be fun to make the 19th item on this list one of the most bizarre ones. A$AP Rocky, a member of the rap supergroup, A$AP Mob, was arrested in Sweden for assault. The craziest thing is this is probably the tamest part of the story. After Rocky was arrested, he spent some time in custody in a Swedish prison while his sentence was being determined. Several of his friends, partners, and fellow artists came to visit him, where they reported he was being kept in inhumane conditions. Things quickly got out of hand when Reverend Al Sharpton stepped into the scene, escalating the national coverage of Rocky's case, which lead to President Trump's involvement. Trump initially tweeted support for Rocky, until First Lady Melania Trump and rapper Kanye West made a plea for the president to get more directly involved. The case is on-going and has a lot of moving parts, but only under the Trump administration could you have such a wild turn of events. I'm not even making space in this article for the Ball family drama - that's another article in itself.
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