We know the year’s not even over yet, but it’s been such a hectic summer and a busy year in the events calendar that we think it’s an opportune time to look at the major events of 2012 that have shaped the year so far.
1. The Olympics
The London 2012 games have been, without doubt, the event of the year. For every nation in the world, this was a time to celebrate hard work and dedication. London 2012 was also the first Olympic games where all competing nations had both male and female competitors.
2. The Paralympics
You can’t mention the Olympics without mentioning the amazing Paralympics that began in late August. What an amazing feat of extraordinary, superhuman endurance and achievement.
3. Nasa’s Mars Curiosity Program
The next frontier – Mars – is now being explored by the Curiosity Rover, which Tweeted its landing and subsequent photos. The world held its breath as the rover landed on the Red Planet, following Nasa’s warnings that it was to be a difficult landing. But the rover landed successfully and is now exploring Mars.
4. The Death of Neil Armstrong
Sticking with the space theme, the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, passed away in August 2012 aged 82. His name will be remembered eternally – the man who inspired a generation of children to want to be astronauts.
5. Euro 2012
It was business as usual at Euro 2012, as Germany were amazing but failed to win the tournament, England went out on penalties and Spain won the competition. Nothing new then!
6. Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee
Even if you’re not a Brit, there’s a good chance you have a bit of a soft spot for her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Indeed, the UK and commonwealth went a bit barmy over the jubilee weekend, with a immense few days of celebration to mark a lifetime of dedication to her country and Queen Elizabeth’s 60th year on the throne.
7. Sopa Blackout
In protest of the proposed SOPA bill, many of the Internet’s biggest websites went dark for 24 hours in January 2012. Most notably, Wikipedia blackened its homepage for 24 hours in support of the anti-SOPA movement.
8. Facebook Goes Public!
The Facebook IPO in May 2012 was massive for the world of business and the world of technology. So too has the fallout since with allegations of shares being overpriced and something of a backlash for Zuckerberg and co.
9. Apple Successfully Sues Samsung in the USA
For technology experts and gadget geeks alike, this story has been the biggest of the year. Samsung were ordered to pay Apple $1 billion dollars after a US judge deemed that Samsung had infringed on Apple patents.
10. The End of the World?
According to a number of groups and cultures, the world is going to end on 21st December. Don’t sweat it though – it wouldn’t be the first time the end of the world has been predicted, after all. Some observers are advising us that it will be more of a ‘spiritual’ ending or transition. Mayan scholars, on the other hand, have been telling us for ages not to sweat it and they’ve never predicted a world ending. Oh well, business as usual then!
This review of the year’s ten most major events so far was contributed by Stacey from UK t shirt site, T Shirt Love, a site where you’ll find wacky, witty and weird tees collated from across the web and a current events and entertainment blog.