Rewind of 2016

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Throughout the year 2016, the United States celebrated wins, mourned the death of many stars and danced along to many new trends.

This year, the US attended the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Brazil. According to National Public Radio, the overall amount of metals won was 121 (46 gold, 37 silver and 38 bronze), which is the most metals ever won by the US outside of our country (Myre). There were also three new sports added to the Olympics this year: golf, where the US won the bronze, sevens rugby and kitesurfing. One of the stars of the Rio Olympics was swimmer, Michael Phelps, and according to USA Today won six metals this year, with a total of 28 metals overall (Yomtov). Another star of the Olympics was gymnast, Simone Biles, who, according to the official Olympic Website, won four gold medals and one bronze, for a total of five in all. For a first time Olympian, that is pretty awesome. It was a record breaking year for the US Olympic team.

The Olympics were not the only win in 2016. The year 2016 will go down in history as the year the Chicago Cubs broke their curse and won the World Series. Rumor has it, back in 1908, the Cubs were cursed after a fan brought his pet goat to a game and was asked to leave. The fan with the pet goat cursed the Cubs, and they did not win another World Series for over 100 years. 2016, however was the year that the curse was lifted. The Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in the ninth inning, leading to the first World Series victory in 108 years for the Cubs.

People really seemed to dance their way through 2016. Many new dance trends came about in 2016, such as the dab. The dab is a dance move where the “dabber” brings their arm up to their face, resembling a sneeze. Many people dab for dance purposes, but the dab has progressed into a common form of celebration. Another new dance trend in 2016 was “Juju on that Beat” by Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall, which was the dance that quickly blew up on YouTube and has now become the dance of the year, according to Billboard Music. Another popular dance trend in 2016 was the Mannequin Challenge, a challenge done by different teams and groups all over the country where the group freezes like a mannequin while a moving camera films them. Those are just some of the dance trends of 2016 and it is likely to see many Wesleyan students posing like a mannequin, dabbing or “jujuing” throughout the campus.

One of the many stars that danced her way to the top of the popularity charts is Kylie Jenner. The youngest sister of the Kardashian-Jenner family became a public icon in 2016, between her popular posts on social media, but especially when she released her makeup line, Kylie Cosmetics. Kylie Cosmetics practically broke the internet, and since being released, her products have been a huge hit throughout the year.

Another huge internet trend from 2016 was the app by Nintendo, “Pokémon Go.” Whether a Pokémon fan before or not, the app has had people running all around towns, trying to find many different breeds of Pokémon. The thing that is different about “Pokémon Go” compared to other apps is that while playing the video game, people get the opportunity to go outside and be active. The active adventures of “Pokémon Go” are definitely a trend that will “catch on” in 2017.

2016 was also a presidential election year. Republican candidate, Donald Trump and Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton battled hard to become the 45th President of the United States. Although, Clinton beat Trump by two percent in the popular vote, Trump won the Electoral College vote with 74 votes more than Clinton, making Donald Trump the 45th President of the United States.

Although 2016 was celebrated, it was also a time when lives were mourned, such as, Alan Rickman, Harper Lee, Nancy Reagan, Prince, Muhammed Ali, Arnold Palmer, Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. These people all made an impact on the world and will be missed dearly.

Another death mourned in 2016 was the infamous gorilla from the Chicago Zoo, Harambe. Harambe was killed after a four year old boy climbed into his enclosure. Over 2016 the death of Harambe has become a movement across the country. People everywhere have protested Harambe’s death, and since then Harambe has become a huge public figure and was one of the best and most googled topics of 2016.

Through the losses and the wins, 2016 was a great year, and 2017 will be a year full of new and excited trends!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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