2020 should have been a year for us to look to the future. As technological advances continue to impress, the start of the decade is a great time to sit back and take stock of things.
Unfortunately, we all know how 2020 has turned out. We’ll get through this ongoing rough spot. Someday, all we’ll have to remind us of this crazy year is the pictures.
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How it all started.
Let’s not forget that the 2020 commemorative quarter design for American Samoa features a couple of bats. Nothing against the little critters but this is some serious foreshadowing.
Yikes.
Yes, to the powers that be, workers are just “human capital stock.” In case of war, I guess we can all be used as meat shields.
Stuck.
In March, the world pretty well stopped and things are still far from normal. Some theaters have had movie posters from months ago gathering dust on the walls.
The sun isn’t supposed to look like that.
This pic was taken at Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont. Yes, Vermont.
The state isn’t dealing with any serious forest fires but smoke from the west coast fires has really travelled.
Remember gloves?
If nothing else, 2020 will be the year that certain household goods like toilet paper and gloves became scarce. I feel like I’ll be coveting and hoarding TP for the rest of my life.
Locked away.
Some pubs simply tape off urinals to create excess space but this Welsh pub is seriously not messing around. Maybe in 2021, these urinals can be released from their tombs.
Neighbors.
Since we can’t hang out with our neighbors anymore, the least we can do is leave care packages. And since we shouldn’t have face-to-face contact, this is about as good as it gets.
Seems legit.
Yep, here we see two scourges: outrageously priced medicine and single-use packaging, all together in the same (single-use) package. Those had better be amazing cough drops.
Outdoor bingo.
This bingo hall has moved things outside due to the pandemic. It’s a good way to escape the smoky interior of the hall, assuming the outdoors isn’t smoky from all the forest fires.
It belongs to the spiders now.
Many of us have found ourselves stuck at home with no real reason to go out. It’s a great way to save on gas but comes with some side effects.
No place to sail.
These cruise ships off the coast of Scheveningen in the Netherlands are sitting dormant until people want to travel again. These things are pretty much disease petri dishes so it’s good that they’re empty.
No place to fly.
Similarly, people aren’t flying like they once did and many airline fleets are largely grounded.
Someday, international travel will be something we can do again and not feel like an impossible dream.
Cool.
No big deal, just Burger King — a corporation worth billions on billions of dollars — asking customers to donate to their minimum wage employees to help them through this trying time.
No drinks.
As someone who really enjoys a cool sip of water from a well-placed drinking fountain, this photo makes me sad. Even after the pandemic, drinking fountains will probably not feel that safe.
Full house.
This is Busch Gardens in Florida, at capacity during a special event. Yeah, capacity isn’t that big during COVID-19. It’s surreal seeing major tourist attractions with so few people.
Sign of the times.
An interesting phenomenon during the pandemic is the rise of cartoon mascots wearing masks. It’s kind of fun, I guess. Also, the name of this beer accurately describes 2020.
Smoky skies.
These nine pics, showing the same area of Oregon sky, demonstrate what it’s like to live through raging wildfires. The sky will clear up eventually but things get pretty orange and smoky for awhile first.
Erin go bragh.
COVID-19 got serious just before St. Patrick’s Day so offices and schools all over the place that have been shut down still have green decorations up, months later.
Seems necessary.
Yes, this is a toothbrush, something you use to manually polish your teeth, doing a software update. At least the bristles should still be usable.
Change those air filters.
Air filters should be changed multiple times a year. If you live in an area that’s been getting lots of smoke in the air, they should probably be changed every day.
