• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
GO TO EXPAT LIVING SINGAPORE
GET OUR NEWSLETTER

Expat Living Hong Kong HomepageExpat Living Hong Kong

Moving to Hong Kong and not sure where to start? Expat Living is the essential lifestyle guide to living in Hong Kong.

Menu
  • Living In Hong Kong
      • Living Here
      • Where To Live
      • Schools
      • For Guys
        • school interviews Ruth BennyTips for school interviews (PODCAST)
        • Serviced apartments and places to stay in HK
        • outdoor activities18 outdoor adventures in Hong Kong
        • Townplace Soho - barProperty Watch: An urban oasis in Soho
      • View all
    Close
  • Things To Do
      • Things To Do
      • What’s On/Calendar
      • Competitions & Offers
        • What to watch this month
        • Woman’s Hour PodcastGreat podcasts we are listening to!
        • outdoor activities18 outdoor adventures in Hong Kong
        • Mount Davis - viewHiking Ideas: A Mount Davis Meander
      • View all
    Close
  • Kids
      • Activities & Things To Do
      • Education & Enrichment
      • Health & Wellness
      • Mums & Babies
      • Podcasts
      • Kids Offers
        • school interviews Ruth BennyTips for school interviews (PODCAST)
        • School news - new schools in Hong Kong, new curriculums, new facilities and more!What’s new on the school scene?
        • Pregnancy scan image for web article on how to choose an obstetrician in Hong KongHow to choose an obstetrician
        • Baby spit upReflux in newborns: tips and treatment
      • View all
    Close
  • Homes
      • Home Décor
      • Readers Homes
        • Dining tables and chairs - TREEWhere to go for dining tables
        • Home news: décor, furniture & more!
        • Townplace Soho - barProperty Watch: An urban oasis in Soho
        • Top furniture finds for your home office
      • View all
    Close
  • Travel
      • Short Breaks
      • Further Afield
      • Travel News & Offers
        • Mount Davis - viewHiking Ideas: A Mount Davis Meander
        • Gorgeous waterfalls around the world
        • Travel news: Places to stay and play
        • MongoliaWomen on a Mission take on Mongolia
      • View all
    Close
  • Wine & Dine
      • Recipes & Groceries
      • Bars & Restaurants
        • Fiamma Italian restaurant - tortelliniTaste Test: Peak Italian Cuisine at Fiamma
        • Vegetarian recipe: Vietnamese rice roll with quorn mince and bolognese sauce5 meat-free meal ideas to try
        • Indian-Restarants-New-Punjab-ClubTop Indian restaurants to try
        • Fagara Aperitivo - Hong Kong restaurantsNew nibbles: where to dine this month
      • View all
    Close
  • Style & Beauty
      • Fashion
      • Hair & Beauty
        • laser treatments hong kongHow to get super smooth skin
        • Tried & Tested: Body lotions we love
        • online shopping websites21 fashion websites shipping to HK
        • Mazu ResortwearFashion news: the latest launches
      • View all
    Close
  • Health & Fitness
      • Medical & Dental
      • Fitness
      • Wellness
        • Gyms in Hong Kong - best places for keeping fit8 great places to go to keep in shape
        • Pregnancy scan image for web article on how to choose an obstetrician in Hong KongHow to choose an obstetrician
        • menopause - symptoms and how to get helpManaging menopause: how to get help
        • heartAre you at risk of heart disease?
      • View all
    Close
  • Shop
      • Magazine
      • Advertise With Us
        • Mar-May 2021
        • Mar-May 2021 – $36 (Usual Price $48)
        • December – February 2021
        • DEC-FEB 2020 – $36 (USUAL PRICE $48)
      • View all
    Close
Home » Living In Hong Kong » What else happened in the year 2020?

What else happened in the year 2020?

2 January, 2021 by Shamus Sillar 5 Min Read

https://expatliving.hk/what-else-happened-in-2020/

As we welcome the start of a new year, it’s time to look back at the year that was. Obviously, a standard review of 2020 would be dominated by one global issue. However, we’ve decided to avoid any mention of the C-word. Instead, we’re taking a look at some of the other things that happened in 2020, month by month, from pop culture phenomena to mystery objects in our deserts and skies. Enjoy – and have a wonderful 2021!

JANUARY

Playlists for Pets
Almost three quarters of pet owners play music to their dogs and cats. That’s what Swedish audio-streaming company Spotify discovered in a survey, leading it to develop special playlists in January 2020 designed for animals who are left home alone while their owners are out. The playlists include feel-good tunes (dogs apparently prefer classical music or soft rock, by the way) and spoken word interludes with messages of praise and affirmation. Spotify also learnt that the most popular music-related pet names include “Bowie”, “Bob Marley” and “Elvis”.

FEBRUARY

Surfer Versus Shark
Some encouraging news for anyone who’s scared of sharks. If you find yourself in the path of a predator of the seas, just punch it in the head! That’s what a 60-year-old Kiwi surfer did after an encounter with a great white shark off the New Zealand coast. Nick Minogue was paddling into a decent swell at Pauanui Beach at 11.30am when a three-metre-plus great white shark bit the front of his surfboard. A couple of stiff uppercuts later and the creature retreated. And Nick? He walked away with a punctured board and wetsuit, a shallow bite to the arm, and a great story to tell at the pub.

MARCH

Hail the Tiger King

2020 in review - Tiger King

It seems like an eternity ago, but March 2020 saw the release on Netflix of true crime documentary Tiger King. The show, about the life of eccentric American zookeeper Joe Exotic, quickly became one of Netflix’s most successful releases of all time. Tens of millions of viewers came on board in the first week, thrusting names like Big Cat Rescue and Carole Baskin into the limelight. Nicolas Cage is apparently set to portray Joe Exotic in an upcoming Amazon Prime series.

APRIL

Are We Alone?
After leaked footage started circulating of UFO videos shot by US Navy pilots in 2004 and 2005, the Pentagon took the extraordinary step in April 2020 of officially releasing the videos to the public. The three videos show rapidly moving “unidentified aerial phenomena” that were recorded by infrared cameras. The black blobs – which are, frankly, a little duller than we were hoping for – have been explained away by many viewers as either drones, regular aircraft or erroneous instrument readings, but embraced by plenty of others as evidence of little green men.

MAY

Holy Hornets!
In May, the announcement that “murder hornets” had arrived in the US sent Americans into a bit of a spin. The Asian giant hornet is the world’s largest species of its kind; we’re talking a 5cm body and a stinger that’s over half a centimetre long. It terrorises honey bees, and is also capable of killing a human with multiple stings. Unsurprisingly, authorities launched a series of eradication efforts. The latest buzz is that the hornet apocalypse may have been exaggerated.

JUNE

The Missing Star
You’d think that if you’ve found a star that is so hot it glows an intense blue and shines a couple of million times brighter than the sun, you’d be hard pressed to suddenly lose that same star. But that’s what happened to astronomers, according to reports that came out in June 2020. The massive star in the Kinman Dwarf galaxy has been studied for 20 years. And now it’s … gone. One theory is that it simply collapsed into a black hole, only without the usual gigantic explosion (supernova) that usually accompanies such events.

JULY

Pizzas for Karens
There will be plenty of contenders for “Word of the Year” in 2020; “Karen” will likely be among the finalists. The term, which became a stereotype for a person acting in an entitled, insensitive way in public, was picked up by pizza chain Domino’s and used in a promotion. Domino’s stores in Australia and New Zealand offered free pizzas to anyone named Karen who didn’t act like a “Karen”. The deal was cancelled after online criticism suggested that there were many more deserving groups in society who could use some free food.

AUGUST

Dreadlocked Dude
A 92-year-old Vietnamese man has revealed an impressive head of hair, in the form of five-metre-long dreadlocks. Nguyen Van Chien hasn’t put scissors to scalp for eight decades, and the result is a hairdo that fans of reggae music will be supremely jealous of. Chien’s decision to let his hair take its natural course is thought to be tied to his belief in the Dua faith, or “coconut religion”, whose founder claimed to have survived only on coconuts.

SEPTEMBER

World’s Longest Song
A big crowd turned up at a German church in September to hear something that hadn’t been heard for seven years. A special automated organ in the church is currently playing a piece of music that will last a total of 639 years. The piece, by American composer John Cage, began in 2001 and is due to finish in 2640. It’s not only long; it’s also slow. September 2020 marked the first chord change in the music since 2013 – hence the crowd.

OCTOBER

A Building That Walks
If you love your home, but you’re not so keen on your neighbourhood, we may have the answer. In China, a company called Shanghai Evolution Shift successfully used a new technology to “walk” a five-storey building more than 200 feet along a city street to a different location. Special mobile supports acting like robotic legs allowed the 7,600-ton building to stand up and saunter down the road.

NOVEMBER

Mystery Monoliths

2020 in review - Utah mystery monolith

November 2020 proved to be a month of monoliths, with a series of a strange metal structures turning up in unlikely places. The first to hit the headlines was a three-metre-tall monolith that was found in a remote corner of red-rock desert in the US state of Utah. A couple of days later, it disappeared. Before the end of the month, a similar metallic tower appeared in the Romanian countryside. It also disappeared soon after! More have since been found – including one in California made of gingerbread, just in time for Christmas.

DECEMBER

The Boxing Octopus
This is the second news snippet on this page to feature underwater fisticuffs; this time, however, it’s the marine life doing the punching! Researchers have found that octopuses sometimes team up with fish to find food; by hunting together, they can cover more territory and increase their chances of catching prey. However, if one of these fishy collaborators gets in the way of an intended target, the octopus will strike it with a “swift, explosive motion with one arm”. We’re calling it a sucker punch.

Also…

What’s a look back at the wacky events of a year without running through some of the wacky new world records? Our favourite record-breaker of 2020 was “Mr Cherry” from Japan. Here are just a few of the magnificent new marks that he set:

  • Most wet T-shirts put on in one minute: 13
  • Most marshmallows caught with chopsticks in one minute: 90
  • Fastest time to remove five Jenga blocks with a party blower (yes, one of those paper coils that unroll and make a noise like a horn when you blow in them): 46 seconds
  • Most individual nuts crushed by sitting down in one minute: 122

 

Like this? Read our review from a year ago of the decade 2010 to 2019.

Categories: Living In Hong Kong Tags: 2020

You May Also Like

Townplace Soho - bar

Property Watch: An urban oasis in Soho

Charity Focus: Hike for Freedom

International relocation - costs

The changing costs of relocation

Primary Sidebar

Expat Living Hong Kong 🇭🇰

expatlivinghk

Open
* Friday GIVEAWAY *

We have teamed up @janeeveinteriors to give one lucky winner two beautiful handmade scented candles from Jane's “Refresh Me” and “Relax Me” ranges.  Here's how to have a chance of winning:

1. Like this post
2. Follow @janeeveinteriors  on Instagram
3. Enter your details via the competitions section of our website - link in our bio.

Good Luck! 🤞🏻

#hongkong #hkig #hk #discoverhongkong #hkiger #fridaygiveaway #giveawayhk #winwinwin #handmadehk
Open
There's so much to love in Jen and Jeff's Happy Valley flat, for the full story head over to our website, link in bio. @moftstudio 

#hongkong #discoverhongkong #hkig #hkiger #hkinteriordesign #hkinterior #balivibe
Open
Ever wondered what it is like to live in Tai Hang? EL reader Neelam Daswani @neelampurehealth gives us the lowdown. For the full story and Neelam's recommendations see our MARCH-MAY issue.

#hongkong #discoverhongkong #hkiger
Open
❤️HK❤️

#hongkong #discoverhongkong #hkig #hkiger #view
Open
* Friday GIVEAWAY *

We have teamed up @gingerjarlampco to give one lucky winner a stunning Ginger Jar Lamp worth $4,000!  Here's how to have a chance of winning:

1. Like this post
2. Follow @gingerjarlampco on Instagram
3. Enter your details via the competitions section of our website - link in our bio.

Good Luck! 🤞🏻

#hongkong #hkig #hk #discoverhongkong #hkiger #fridaygiveaway
Open
Jo Lodder and Catherine Cormack recently set out to raise much needed funds for @stop.hk and @tails.lantau by tackling Hong Kong’s famous hiking trails over four days in March.  To find out how they got on, head over to our website to read all about it, link in bio.

#hongkong #hkig #discoverhongkong #hkig #hikeforfreedom #hkhiking #hkhiker #adoptdontshop #stophumantrafficking
Open
📸 @ colsimphotography

#hongkong #hkig #hk #discoverhongkong #hkiger
#photography #photooftheday #streetphotography #streetsigns #hkstreet
Open
A chocolate overload and cute little bunnies – what’s not to like about Easter celebrations? We’ve rounded up some things to do in Hong Kong for a cracking good time over the break - check out the full article on our website - link in bio.

#hongkong #hkig #hk #discoverhongkong #hkiger #easter #eastereggs #easterbunny
Open
Whether you're a newbie or have been here a while, our guide is sure to help you make the most of living here.  Read it for free on any device 👉 expatliving.hk/cg/ig
Open
Beaches and swimming pools are progressively re-opening 🏊‍♀️🏝👏👏

#hk #hkig #hkiger #hkbeach #hkpools
Open
*Friday Giveaway*  Win one of 50 Early Access Passes to the Affordable Online Art Fair 2021. Like this post & enter your details via the competitions section of our website - link in our bio

Good Luck! 🤞🏻

#hongkong #hkig #hk #discoverhongkong #hkiger #art #affordableart #affordableartfair #giveaway
Open
Jo Lodder and Catherine Cormack are currently on a Hike for Freedom, tackling four trails – the Maclehose, Hong Kong, Wilson and Lantau – to raise money for two organisations doing incredibly important work. @stophk - a charity that strives to put and end to human trafficking in Hong Kong and @ tails.lantau - an animal rescue organisation based on Lantau. The Hike will cover 300km and 18,600m in elevation over just four days! 

Read the full article on our homepage - link in bio - including how you can donate and follow their progress.

#hikeforfreedom #hkhiking #adoptdontshop #hongkong #hkig
Open
In our new spring issue we take a look at Jenny Perry's  impressive village house renovation in Sai Kung 🏡 there's so much to love! Check out the article for all her tips and local recommendations 👉 link in bio
Open
Read our latest Spring issue on any device for free 👉 expatliving.hk/digital/FB/

In this issue, we’ve got some of the best finds to make your home office functional and looking good. We also check out two beautifully renovated homes, get an insider’s guide to Tai Hang and discover home-decorating trends and the latest properties on the market.

There's loads more, including great Mexican food, easy recipes from our team, beauty tips and facials to try, and a look at Hong Kong’s country parks and hiking trails.

👨‍🎓 Plus, an eight-pager School Special! Everything from getting your kids IB-ready and enrichment options to great advice on battling bullies and trolls.
Open
* Friday GIVEAWAY *

We have teamed up with Assaggio to give one lucky winner a fabulous 35oz Fiorentina T-Bone Steak & Seafood Set Dinner for Four, worth $2,488!  

Featuring the 35oz Fiorentina T-Bone Steak served on a red hot sizzling iron plate with rosemary, the set dinner comes with Seafood Platter (Oyster Fine de Clair, Alaska King Crab Leg, Black Mediterranean Mussel, Veraci Clam), Kobocha Pumpkin and Tomino Cheese Soup, and Italian Black Truffle Tagliolini. 
Finally, wrap up the meal with the signature dessert trio: Tiramisu, Panna Cotta and Wild Berry Sorbet.

Sound good?

Here's how to have a chance of winning:

1. Like this post
2. Follow @miradining on Facebook
3. Enter your details via the competitions section of our website - link in our bio 

Good Luck! 🤞🏻
Open
📷 @colsimphoto we love his new collection #hongkonginmotion
Open
We are looking for readers to tell us about their area and why they love it.

We will send you some questions to answer and feature you in the Street Talk section of our print magazine and will also publish it online.

Drop us a PM with some info of where you live and we will get our team to be in touch 😊
Open
One of the many ways to enjoy HK’s waters! Head to our website for a comprehensive guide, link in bio. 📷 @ wanchaibelle
Open
Love a tasty taco, a classic plate of nachos or a frosty margarita? 

We recently road tested 3 Mexican restaurants – read the full reviews in our March magazine ✨📖 or online – link in bio.
@taqueriasupermacho 
@elmachohk
@tqmhk
Open
HK resident and award-winning artist Martin Lever recently spent 14 days in quarantine. Inspired by the mountain view, he created a stunning series of artwork, The Room 202 Project. 

What's more, Martin has teamed up with ImpactHK and is selling limited-edition digital prints – 50% of sales will  support HK's homeless.

For the full story, head to our website – link in bio.
  • COMPETITIONS & OFFERS
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Subscribe

© 2021 Expat Living Hong Kong, All Rights Reserved.