2020 has been harsh on us for too many reasons. Was there even something good or worth a laugh? Any positive trends, not-canceled events, or statistics that are not about the numbers of infected? At BooksRun, we still strive to look positively at the year that’s almost behind (and honestly, we are also happy to wave it goodbye). We’ve compiled a non-exhaustive list of positive statistics and trends of 2020 to cheer you up and lift your spirits. Let’s remember 2020 for something positive and let it go away with our hopes for a better future!
1. YouTube Video of the Year
Let’s go straight to something that will make you wanna dance immediately. Yes, the most-watched video of the year and of all time is Baby Shark Dance (7.5 billion views!). It’s been around for a while, but it became a hit this year. We all need a bit of cuteness in 2020! You know the moves, right? So let’s doo-doo together!
2. GIPHY’s Most Viewed GIFs
We would expect something sarcastic from the all-time classics, The Office (How the turntables?). Still, the result really reveals the best in us! Have a look yourself according to GIPHY’s release, the most viewed GIFs in 2020 are all about love, care, and gratitude to people on the front lines.
3. Fostered Pets
You have probably heard the news that as the quarantine became a reality, many people rushed to adopt and foster pets—some articles really went viral. However, it is not entirely true. On the report of 24petwatch, which accumulates massive statistics about dogs and cats entering and leaving shelters, there is a decline in pet adoption in 2020. However, there are equally fewer animals entering the shelters!
The most exciting development is a steady growth of people fostering pets and dogs—10–15% more than in the corresponding months of 2019. It is fantastic that people, while staying at home, decided to dedicate their time and love to abandoned pets, at least for a while. Fostering a pet is one of the best things you can do, both for yourself and for the pet (fostered pets have better chances of getting adopted later). Learn more about fostering and see if your changed study or work situation allows for a four-paw guest in your home.
4. The World Loneliest Elephant Found Its Home
This news went viral, but it’s charming and inspirational enough to recount the events again! Kaavan is a 36-year-old elephant who had been suffering from loneliness in a zoo in Islamabad. Having spent his whole life in captivity, it became especially hard on the elephant when he lost his partner. Eventually, thanks to the combined effort of Four Paws, the Pakistani Government, several NGOs, and entrepreneurs (Cher as well!), Kaavan was moved to Cambodia. There, our elephant is not lonely and in captivity anymore—he finally enjoys living in the wild with other animals. This story reminds us that our generous hearts can make a change, even during gruesome times.
5. Funniest Tweets of 2020
We’ll just leave them here. No comments are needed.
6. Most Streamed Song on Spotify
Spotify has unveiled the mystery of the most popular song of 2020, and it’s The Weekend Blinding Lights (1.6 billion streams).
Now it’s time to check your personal Spotify statistics! Share the results with us! I bet my result will be Dolly Parton’s Jolene (hashtag oldschool).
7. Tiger Population Has Increased
The global wild tiger population had been decreasing in the last 100 years (amounting to a 95% decline). Therefore a WWF initiative TX2 to double wild tigers in number came into force. And finally, in 2020, we can state that the wild tigers’ population is steadily growing, especially in India and Nepal. However, it’s not enough to claim that the wild population of tigers is safe, but it indeed belongs to positive statistics.
8. Literary Awards of the Year
We can’t skip the literary achievements of the year—we are reading fans, after all! It would be impossible to overview all national and international awards in literature given in 2020, but here are the most influential prizes. Here you can find a handy calendar marking almost all major book awards.
The Nobel Prize is always exciting to follow (this year, we got incredible results for Chemistry, Physics, and Medicine). The Nobel Prize in literature goes to an American writer Louise Glück. Although the subjects of her poems are often harsh and terrifying, “her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal,”—highlights the committee.
The Pulitzer 2020 in Fiction goes to The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. Douglas Stuart won the 2020 Booker Prize for his first novel Shuggie Bain.
9. The Literary Prize that Has Been Canceled
For better or for worse, this year’s Bad Sex in Fiction award has been canceled. As stated by its organizers (Literary Review), “The judges felt that the public had been subjected to too many bad things this year to justify exposing it to bad sex as well.” But this award has been an entertaining treat for all book geeks around the globe, so it is a piece of justifiable but sad news. If you want to burst into tears from laughing, check the previous years’ winners (be mentally prepared, it’s really bad).
10. Self-Care Is Trending
Spending more time at home, we were left face to face with… our faces. Finally, we got a bit of extra time and incentives to turn to self-care! This can include stepping up your daily routine or exploring new cosmetic products. Retinol can clearly be awarded the “ingredient of the year prize”—according to Google Trends, the number of searches for retinol doubled in 2020 compared to 2018 and 2019. If you wonder what retinol is, the Skin Care and Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary will help you!
If we look at the number of searches for “self-care,” one of the global trends of 2020 is evident. We became much more interested in and concerned with nourishing our health.
Try to create your own year in review, highlighting your achievements and positive things that have happened (I’m sure it’s possible to find some if you dig deep enough). This year definitely did not turn around as we thought it would have. The tendency is to evaluate the year according to plans and resolutions that we did not manage to keep.
However, take some time for yourself and write down all the good things you’re grateful for! When drafting our individual yearly results, we tend to be very businessy. However, you are not a company, and you don’t need to release your “end of the year review” full of numbers and peaking graphs.
Here are just some examples: staying sane amidst all social and political turmoils is already good enough! Keeping on with your relationships, going for walks, not dropping out of classes, helping your parents or your community, reading more books—take credit for all those small things you did on a daily basis. If you are entirely out of ideas, at least award yourself for surviving through 2020. Here is a certificate to fill in!
12. BooksRun Achievements
We will share our achievements below so that you can have them as inspiration to do the same. And again, as a company, we operate in numbers, but that’s not the only way to approach your personal achievements!
- Our users have given us more than 10K positive reviews! We are so grateful!
- We’ve worked hard towards expanding the range of books on our website, and now you can choose from one million books.
- BooksRun users have planted 1020 trees with our Loyalty Program. We’re so happy to help you make the change that matters globally.
- Our excellent Brand Products—a perfect notebook and a canvas tote bag—are available for Loyalty Program users. Join the program to get yours!
- In our blog, we’ve continued to share with you the best tips on student life, finances, hobbies, learning, reading, and so much more! Which one is your favorite blog post from those 35 published last year? And we make sure that there is more to come in 2021, so stay tuned!
We are happy that 2020 is coming to an end. Most likely, you will not consider this year a total waste of time and energy. We hope you had enough support to cope with losses and tragedies, and you’ve also managed to carve out some pleasant experiences and positive achievements for yourselves. Let’s wait with excitement for what 2021 will bring!
