Defining Moments of the Decade: WTF, 2010s

2016: Who Let the Trumps Out, Who, Who, Who

After a heated, insult-driven campaign, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States with Mike Pence as Vice President in the 2016 United States Presidential Election.

Trump was elected with 304 electoral votes and 62,980,160 popular votes, according to 270toWin. Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton had 227 electoral votes and 65,845,063 popular votes.

Women in Congress

A historic number of women were elected to serve in the United States Congress, accounting for 19.5 percent of the 535 members, the Center for American Women and Politics reported.

20 women served in the US Senate and 85 served in the US House of Representatives.

Brexit

The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union with a 51.9 percent majority in 2016, BBC said.

Pepe the Frog is a “Hate Symbol”

Pepe the Frog from Matt Furie’s “Boy’s Club” comic series was coined a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League in 2016 due to the growth of “alt-right” Pepe memes depicting the frog in a racist or bigoted fashion.

Is It Hot on This Planet, or Is It Just Us?

In 137 years of record-keeping, 2016 marked the hottest year on record, the NOAA’s international report confirmed.

The global surface temperature, greenhouse gases, and global sea levels were highest on record. Tropical cyclones were above average, as well.

Meanwhile, Arctic Sea ice coverage reached a near-record low.

The Wicked Witch of the West melting in the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz”

Source: Giphy

Orlando Nightclub Shooting

49 people lost their lives and more than 50 were wounded in a mass shooting that took place at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., the deadliest mass shooting in America at the time, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

When Life Gave Her Lemons, Beyoncé Made “LEMONADE”

“LEMONADE” by Beyoncé trailer

Source: LEMONADE Trailer | HBO | Beyoncé

Beyoncé premiered her visual album “LEMONADE” on HBO on April 23, 2016 to an audience of 787,000, TV by the Numbers reported.

The 13-track album details Beyoncé’s side of the Jay-Z infidelity rumors that had been circulating since 2014, according to a timeline by People magazine.

Stranger Things

The American sci-fi and Netflix original “Stranger Things” premiered its first season in July 2016, quickly garnering critical acclaim.

“This nostalgic nod to ’80s sci-fi and horror classics has earned 31 Emmy nominations, including two for Outstanding Drama.”

Stranger Things | Netflix

Leo Finally Gets an Oscar

Leonardo DiCaprio’s 2016 Oscar Awards acceptance speech

Source: Leonardo DiCaprio winning Best Actor | Oscars

33 years after his first Oscar nomination, Leonardo DiCaprio won an Oscar for Best Actor, commemorating his performance in the 2015 film “The Revenant.”

America the First to Eliminate Measles

The World Health Organization and Pan American Health Organization announced that America was the first to eliminate measles, a virus that can cause pneumonia, brain swelling, and death, in Sept. 2016.

“This achievement culminates a 22-year effort involving mass vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella throughout the Americas,” WHO and PAHO explain. “Measles is the fifth vaccine-preventable disease to be eliminated from the Americas, after the regional eradication of smallpox in 1971, poliomyelitis in 1994, and rubella and congenital rubella syndrome in 2015.”

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