Defining Moments of the Decade: WTF, 2010s

2014: Here Comes Dat Ellen’s Oscars Selfie

If only Bradley’s arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars pic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014

Ellen’s selfie with Jared Letto, Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Bradley Cooper, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong’O, Peter Nyong’O, and Angelina Joelie at the Oscars became the most retweeted tweet of all-time, reaching over one million retweets in just 45 minutes on March 2, 2014, according to Mashable.

As this article goes to publication almost six years later, Ellen’s Oscars selfie has over three million retweets.

227 Passengers, 12 Crew Members, and an Entire Airplane Disappear

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared with 227 passengers, and crew members aboard the Boeing 777 during a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Bejing, China, Encyclopedia Britannica explains.

The flight took off at 12:41 a.m. local time and sent its last transmission at 1:07 a.m., just six minutes after reaching a cruising altitude.

The last voice communication was sent at 1:19 a.m. Two minutes later, the transponder used to communicate with air-traffic control was switched off.

The Malaysian military and civilian radar began tracking the plane at 1:30 a.m. as it turned around and flew over the Malaysian Penninsula. Then, it flew over the Strait of Malacca.

The radar lost contact with flight MH370 as it flew over the Andaman Sea. An Inmarsat satellite over India received hourly signals from the plane until 8:11 a.m.

Search efforts ensued that stretched from the Indian Ocean west of Australia to Central Asia, but the first piece of debris was not found until July 26, 2015.

The search was officially called off in Jan. 2017 and an American company, Ocean Infinity, received permission from the Malaysian government to continue to search until May 2017.

In July 2018, the Malaysian government released a report on MH370’s disappearance that deemed mechanical malfunction was highly unlikely and the change in flight path was “likely the result from manual inputs” – despite none of the crew members displaying behavior that would’ve indicated they were suicidal.

To this day, it’s unknown why MH370 disappeared.

Ebola Epidemic

The World Health Organization reported cases of Ebola in southeast Guinea, which marked the beginning of the West Africa Ebola epidemic – the largest Ebola epidemic in history, said the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.

“Weak surveillance systems and poor public health infrastructure contributed to the difficulty surrounding the containment of this outbreak and it quickly spread to Guinea’s bordering countries, Liberia and Sierra Leone,” the CDC explained. “By July 2014, the outbreak spread to the capitals of all three countries. This was the first time EVD extended out from more isolated, rural areas and into densely populated urban centers, providing an unprecedented opportunity for transmission.”

Dat Boi

A 3D model of a frog on a unicycle known as “dat boi” was released in July 2014 that subsequently went viral on social media two years later, says Know Your Meme.

Republicans Take the Senate

Republicans took majority in the United States Senate by nine seats during the 2014 United States Midterm Elections, according to the Wall Street Journal’s map.

Additionally, Republicans gained 13 seats in the United States House of Representatives and two governors.

Rest in Peace, Robin Williams

Beloved comedian and actor Robin Williams was found dead in his California home on Aug. 11, 2014, according to the coroner’s report released on Nov. 5, 2014.

Williams was found hanging in his locked-basement and it was determined the actor had lost his life to suicide.

Comet Landing

The European Space Agency’s Philae probe made history as the first to land on a comet in Dec. 2014, the ESA announced.

“Our ambitious Rosetta mission has secured a place in the history books: not only is it the first to rendezvous with and orbit a comet, but it is now also the first to deliver a lander to a comet’s surface,” said Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA’s Director General.

What Goes Up Must Come Down

CNN’s coverage of Solange and Jay-Z’s elevator dispute

Source: Solange and Jay Z break silence on elevator fight | CNN

Singer-songwriter Solange Knowles, pop-queen Beyoncé’s sister, and rap-artist Jay-Z, husband of Beyoncé, were caught amidst a physical dispute in an elevator at the Met Gala, CNN reported.

They later released a statement assuring the public that Solange and Jay-Z had said their apologies and moved on from the situation.

Continue to 2015 –>